Mafia Bargains
by JMBC
Summary: Traded like livestock, treated like trash, all by her own aunt and uncle. When she's put up as collateral, does Bella find what she's always needed in a man from the underworld? BxE Mafia AH/AU OOC Rated M just in case OS or continue? tell me what u thin
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Please be nice, this is my first published story. I would love any constructive criticism anyone may have, but if you're just going to lash out and not be helpful, don't bother reviewing.**

**I do not know if I should continue this or leave it as a OS, please tell me what you think of this at the end. I like honesty as long as it's not just to be mean.**

***I do not own Twilight or any of the contents included, unfortunately. S. Meyer does and I'm not nearly as rich as her, so therefore, I can't be her.***

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><p>Kneeling. The long fibers of the stiff, shaggy, olive colored carpet below dug into their knees. They watched as the two pairs of shiny black penny loafers circled them slowly. They dared not look up and tempt fate.<p>

"If you just tell me where she is, I'll let both of you go," one of the men said in his greasy voice as they both continued to circle the couple.

"We don't know where she is!" the husband begged for their life with no knowledge of where their niece was.

"I think you're lying," the second man sneered as he backhanded the husband across the face with such force he fell backwards and hit his head on the solid mahogany coffee table and collapsed on the rug below with his arms still duct taped behind him.

The wife screamed loudly as she looked over at her husband. The red blood dripped from a cut in his cheek the man's ring had made, and a dark stain slowly spread further from the back of the husband's head. The wife scrambled toward him as fast as she could while being bound to see if she could help him; comfort him; hold him.

"As soon as you tell us where your niece is, we'll leave. You'll have a chance to save him if you just cooperate. You can trust me. All we want is the girl. You and the boss had a deal, you would get the three million and if you couldn't pay up in a timely manner, she would be the collateral. Guess what? You haven't paid up and now we want what you promised us. We've come to collect and as soon as you tell us where she is, we'll get out of here and leave you two alone," the second man sneered from behind them.

"We don't know!" the wife screamed at the men as she held her paling husband the best she could, blubbering over his weakening body. She knew. The moment she saw them, she knew. She felt the dread and the helplessness deep in her bones that the second they gave up where their niece was they were both going to die. But what other choice did they have? Tell them where their niece was or die? Surely there had to be a compromise they could reach, right?

The two men would surely find Bella wherever she was hiding in the house, but at what cost to them? Would it cost both of them their lives?

The woman sobbed into her husband's tan button up shirt soaking it, causing it to turn a darker shade of tan. She chanced a look up at the two men before she sniveled and tried to bargain their lives, "Please, we know she's somewhere in the house, but we don't know where. Please, we've told you everything we know. Please don't hurt us anymore! We told you where she was! You promised to leave us alone now!"

"We lied," the first man growled lowly at her.

Without another word, the second man lifted his right hand towards the husbands and the wife screamed shrilly as it sounded like a bomb exploded.

The screaming only lasted a moment. It ended along with her life when another quick, loud bang echoed through the house ominously.

The house was deathly silent as the two men drove off in their shiny, sleek, black BMW with tinted windows, an unconscious teenage girl in the back seat and a bag of jewelry from the house safe on the floor of the backseat.

The house slowly began to smell of copper and death as the crimson blood slowly turned the olive shaggy rug a shiny, sticky black.


	2. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and unfortunately, I never will.***

**All right, all y'all convinced me to continue. This one's a little longer than the last one. I hope you all enjoy. Here's chapter 2 without further adieu~**

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><p>When she awoke hours later she noticed first that it was gloomy, yet still light out. The next thing she noticed was she was in a luxurious bedroom. The softest, most comfortable bed she had ever touched was below her and blue and green bed sheets were softly pulled up to her chest to keep her covered.<p>

The room was done in soft cool colors with light colored wood furniture. The walls and ceiling were slightly off white, maybe an eggshell color while the trim at the top and at the floor were a pale blue color. There were two doors in the room off in the corner near the bed, one probably to the bathroom and the other probably to the closet, with a large purple lilac colored rug in the center covering the light colored wooden floor between the bed and the doors.

Over all, the entire feel of the room was elegant and contemporary. Whoever had designed the room did an excellent job with colors and feel. It was comfortable yet still pretty as far as bedrooms were concerned.

As Bella took in her surroundings, she knew she should feel terrified seeing as she had been kidnapped from her own home by two very surly looking men. But then again, with her history, she was almost expecting something like that to happen to her. They found her hiding in a small cupboard in her bathroom, jabbed a needle in her shoulder and injected her with something, that same something she had just woken up from. The last thing she remembered was opening her mouth to scream before everything went black.

She didn't know if she was in the same city. Probably not. She didn't know if she was in the same county. Probably not. She didn't even know if she was in the same state. Probably not, if they knew what they were doing.

She had no idea where she was, who took her, why they had taken her or what was going to happen to her. From everything going on around her, she should have been having a panic attack, but when she woke up and realized she wasn't in Kansas anymore, she didn't feel anything but relief. Most people would not have felt relief, but Bella wasn't most people.

Bella's father, Charlie, died on the job when she was eleven years old. She had been on a ride along with him, in the patrol car when he pulled over a car and discovered the driver had outstanding warrants in his name. But the driver wasn't about to go back to prison. He came out shooting, hitting her father in the side of the neck. Charlie was able to get off a few rounds as he fell and hit the driver in the shoulder and lower torso. When the driver sped away, Bella came out of her hiding spot in the front seat of the patrol car and held her father on the roadway as he bled to death. She clutched onto her father as she sobbed hysterically on the side of the road until the paramedics and other officers pried her off her father's cooling body. They were lucky they had the dash board camera because they had to sedate Bella she was so hysterical and distraught.

Less than a year later Bella's mother, Renee, was murdered in her bed during the middle of the night when a burglar broke into their house. He was so quiet he didn't even wake her up. He just walked right in, put a knife up to her throat and sliced without any remorse or second thought. Bella and her two older brothers, Jordan and Jeremiah, found Renee's body the following morning drenched in drying crimson. Bella almost had a panic attack from the images all the blood brought back from the previous year with Charlie. Renee's eyes were open but lifeless and her body was cold and hard to the touch. There was blood everywhere from the arterial spray and Renee's coughing as she tried to breathe. The coroner said she died from loss of blood and drowned on her own fluids.

Once their mother's body was removed from the scene, the police tasked Bella and her brothers with checking for missing items the burglar might have taken from the house. The three of them searched and sifted through their belongings carefully, looking for anything that might have been taken; but in the end, all three of them realized there was nothing stolen. The police deduced the burglar broke in, slit their mother's throat, searched through all the drawers and cabinets in the room, found nothing of value and rushed out. Seemingly all for nothing.

Bella and her brothers were taken in by their mother's brother; Henry, his wife, Lisa and their two boys, Rob and Peter. Rob and Peter were moved to share one of the larger bedrooms downstairs while Jordan and Jeremiah shared the other larger room upstairs, directly across from Henry and Lisa's master bedroom. Bella got the small bed off in the corner of the upstairs level right above the kitchen since she was the only female child. All five of the children realized times were going to be tough and tight for a while and nobody put up a major fuss about having to share their rooms. They all got along just fine as they slowly turned into one giant, grieving family.

Less than six months later, when she was thirteen years of age, the entire family, minus two people, had been on a plane to Maine for a family reunion when the plane crashed. There were only twenty survivors total and Bella was the only one of her family to survive. The rescue workers found her sitting in the open field near the crash covered in blood and completely catatonic. Her brothers had always been her protectors since the day she was born and she was lost without them, completely shutting herself off. After her recovery and release from the hospital, the police shipped her back to California to live with her last surviving relatives that were physically able to care for a teenage girl, her Uncle Phil and Aunt Sue.

Phil was a banker and Sue was a nurse, and they were up to their eyeballs in debt. Neither of them had much vacation or sick leave time available in order to go with their three children to Maine, so they had forgone the trip with the rest of the family; a decision that saved their own lives, but not those of their children.

Bella wouldn't have much to her name until she turned eighteen, after which she was to inherit everything from her parent's estate as she was the last surviving member of her family. The lawyer dealing with her family's wills sold most of the properties off and their contents on her behalf, though Bella made sure to hold onto her childhood home and belongings. When she moved into Phil and Sue's house, she made sure to lock her childhood house up tightly, and hide all of the valuable things where nobody would ever find them, until she could come back at the age of eighteen to rightfully claim it.

Following her move into Phil and Sue's house, everything just went from bad to worse. Phil and Sue blamed her for the death of their children. She was the only survivor of the entire family on that plane and their grief and anger at the death of their children was directed at her.

Bella was allowed to keep her down comforter she had when she was at Renee's house and a stuffed animal her father gave her. Other than that, she had a single, twin mattress thrown on the floor haphazardly in the corner with only one blanket with which to cover the mattress. They gave her a pillow and ten sets of clothes and that's all she had to her name.

With the death of their own children and their new living arrangements, Bella noticed the changes that Phil and Sue slowly underwent. Phil started drinking more and the more he drank the angrier and more violent he became. Sue started having strange men stop by the house and after they would leave, she would start acting strangely before she eventually became angry. Sometimes they would rage and argue with one another, but more often than not, Bella would take the brunt of their anger. By the time she was fourteen years old, she knew how to carefully cover the bruises they left behind, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cover up what their words did to her. The physical abuse was easy to cover up, deal with and gloss over, but the emotional abuse was much harder to ignore and deny.

Three and a half years of abuse only to be kidnapped on her seventeenth birthday and brought to an unfamiliar place; she had no idea where it was or who was holding her. She knew her aunt and uncle wouldn't be looking for her- if they were even still alive. She also realized that whoever was holding her here could possibly be more violent than her own aunt and uncle towards her, but she was so desperate to get out of the previous violent house that she would take just about anything over them.

Bella sat up on the comfy bed and remained there for the longest time looking around at her surroundings. One either side of the bed sat small wooden nightstands with soft blue lamps and a small bouquet of flowers on the left nightstand. At the foot of the bed was a solid looking bench that could be used as storage inside. Disregarding that this wasn't her house and she was merely a guest, she quietly opened one of the drawers on the left nightstand to see if she could locate any information about where she was. All she found in the drawer was a pen and a pad of legal paper. She turned around on the bed and opened the top drawer for the right nightstand and found nothing but a King James Bible.

Near the closet and bathroom doors was a small, square alcove lined with window seats and a footrest, with windows on the corner where the walls met. Draped over the windows were sheer curtains keeping some of the overcast sin out of the room, while tied off to the side were the heavy duty, plaid black out curtains.

Outside the covered windows, she could hear the wind blowing harshly along with some muted sounds of a busy city somewhere below. Visible through the curtains and window pane were tall sky scraper buildings in various places, far and close. Everything seemed boring in the various shades of grey, which included the sky.

She sighed in disappointment at her lack of information and decided she wasn't so sure if she should get up and go exploring around the room further and eventually out into the rest of the place, or if she was to stay there on the bed and wait for someone to come check on her. She didn't have to wait long at all.

A beautiful young woman-probably no more than twenty five years old, Bella guessed- let herself into the room, carrying a tray of food and drink. Her frilled, sleeveless purple blouse and loose fitting navy blue dress pants with no shoes complemented her pale skin and chestnut colored hair, which hung in loose curls ending just above her chest. When she saw Bella sitting up in the bed, she smiled brightly and walked over to her.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked the teenager as she observed her temperament.

Bella shrugged shyly before answering her, "I guess I'm all right…"

"You must be starving. I brought you some food. I bet you have a lot of questions right now. Am I right?" the woman asked as she set the tray of food over Bella's lap and sat down gently on the bed next to her outstretched legs.

Bella nodded to her as she started eating from the tray quickly. She didn't know how long she had gone without food but she was positive she couldn't go one more moment without the delicious smelling food in front of her.

As she ate, the woman sat patiently, watching Bella eat like it was her first and last meal. She didn't know what this poor young girl did, and she wasn't sure Bella was going to understand or like it when she told her of her new situation.

"So," she began, her hazel eyes soft and comforting, "what are some of your questions? If you want to ask them, I can answer while you're eating…?"

Bella stopped chewing as she looked up at the beautiful young woman and asked the first thing that came to her mind, "What's your name?"

The woman smiled gently before telling Bella, "My name is Esme Cullen. And you're Bella Swan, correct?" Bella nodded, eyeing her warily. She hadn't spoken to anyone until now, but this woman knew her name? How?

The older woman saw the suspicion in the young girl's eyes and smiled reassuringly at her before continuing her explanation, "don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you here. My father-in-law told me your name in passing."

"Where am I?"

"Well, right now you're in Edward Cullen Senior's high rise penthouse in the windy city of Chicago."

Having consumed everything on the plate, Bella pushed the tray away slightly and sat back against the soft pillows at the head of the bed. Esme stood, took the tray from the bed and placed it on the dresser across from the end of the bed.

The dresser was a massive, long, wood-stained dresser with nine different drawers in rows of three and it matched the large desk, which sat at the other side of the room near the main doorway, with drawers to the side and cubby holes up top, with the desk chair pushed in.

On top of the dresser, centered perfectly for viewing from the bed, was a forty inch flat screen television set and on either side were two groupings of three ivory candles on a platter. Each candle was lit and you could see the light all the way through the candles. They looked so magical.

Esme sat back down nest to Bella's legs and opened her mouth to say something as Bella was getting comfortable with the pillows when there was a soft knock on the door. Bella and Esme both looked over at the door as it opened and revealed two gorgeous men in the doorway.

Out of the corner of her eye as she looked them over, she saw there was a large desk with drawers to the side and cubby holes up top. The desk matched the other furniture in the room, in both wood stain and sturdiness, with the matching desk char pushed in. When the furniture became just another fixture in the stunning room, she turned her attention solely back onto the two men.

The first man was tall, had pale skin and platinum blonde hair that was slicked back naturally. He was lean but not lanky, muscular but not muscle-y. He was wearing a very pale blue button down, long sleeved dress shirt and an even paler blue tie. He saw Bella sitting up on the bed looking completely terrified and tried to smile reassuringly at her.

The second man had on a Kelly green button up long sleeved dress shirt with black slacks and black shiny loafers that looked extremely expensive. The top button of his shirt was unbuttoned and there was no tie to be seen anywhere. He was as tall as the first man but his crazy new penny colored hair stuck up in every direction giving him some additional height. He, too, was just as pale as the first man but instead of the sky blue eyes like the first, he had emerald green eyes that were staring straight at Bella like she was a puzzle to figure out.

Bella felt the blush creep from her ears down before it bloomed over her cheeks and down her neck to the top of her chest. She ducked her head shyly to break the eye contact with the "penny" man and a lock of hair fell into her face acting as a small curtain to hide her embarrassing trait. She couldn't control her fingers as they started playing with the top blanket, twisting and turning it around her fingers.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet Carlisle, my husband and Edward, my brother in law…"

"Nice to meet you, Bella," Carlisle, the blonde one spoke gently with such a kindness in his sky blue eyes one could never fake.

"Nice to meet you as well," she whispered out shyly, not daring to raise her eyes to look at the two men in the room.

"Bella, Carlisle here is a doctor at the local hospital. He needs to look you over to ensure you're not hurt and that you're healthy. Once we do that, we can move onto why you're here. Does that sound like a plan?"

Bella looked over at Esme with wide, fearful eyes that started to well and shine with tears. She wasn't scared to be here instead of at home with her aunt and uncle, but she was absolutely petrified of having the man come near enough to her that he touched her.

Carlisle saw the frightened look in her eyes and soothingly asked, "Honey, I won't do anything truly invasive. That being said, would you like Esme to stay while I examine you?"

Bella nodded frantically as she looked over at the woman in question. Esme smiled over at her before she nodded and told her, "I'll be right here with you."

"I think that's my cue to leave. I'll be right outside the door. When you're done, come get me and I'll explain everything I know," Edward told the three of them with a gentle smile on his lips as he moved towards the door.

"No," Bella spoke up timidly feeling slightly bad for making these people come in, then go out then come back in, "It's ok. I don't want to make more work for anyone. You can stay… just…turn away if…"

"I won't look if it gets too personal," he reassured from his spot near the door.

"All right, if it gets to be too much for you, just tell me and I'll stop." Carlisle said as he stepped towards her. "I'll talk you through everything I'm going to do so you know what you're going to be feeling, does that help?" Bella nodded as she squeezed her eyes tight trying to do everything she could to put out of her mind what was about to happen.

The exam itself was panic inducing. She tried everything she had ever used at her aunt and uncle's house, when she was being beaten, to put it out of her mind, but something wasn't letting her this time. Maybe it was the fact she didn't know these people or that she was in a new place without any clue what was going to happen to her, or maybe it was the fact that she could hear Esme's breathing hitch every time she would flinch away from Carlisle's hands.

Finally after an especially painful prod to one of the many bruises on her torso, Bella cried out for Carlisle to stop. He quickly backed away from her, like he said he would as Esme tried to calm her down as best she could. Bella pulled her shirt down to cover her exposed midsection, curled into a ball on her side and held her knees close to her chest facing the small reading alcove.

Esme carefully pulled the blankets to cover her before sitting back down next to her and gently rubbing her arm comfortingly. She tried talking to Bella about anything and nothing to calm her down and eventually it worked. After what seemed like forever to the three observers, Bella finally stopped crying and shaking uncontrollably.

"I don't mean to just jump right in here and upset you even more, but I believe one of your questions was what you were doing here?" Edward asked softly as he walked around to the opposite side of the bed and grabbed a nearby chair, sitting down right next to the head of the bed. He smiled apologetically at her when she backed away slightly.

Bella nodded, answering his question silently. She felt Esme continuing with her gentle arm rubbing that soothed her even more into the soft bed below. She suddenly felt exhausted. After everything she had to endure already today, she just wanted to go back to sleep.

"I can see you're tired, and I promise we'll leave you to sleep soon, but I would like to answer that question before you do. Is that all right with you?" Edward asked again, just as softly. Bella nodded tiredly, allowing him to continue.

"Two years ago your uncle was in desperate need of a loan. None of the legitimate lenders would lend him the large amount he needed to pay back his creditors, and with his poor credit record the banks turned him away quickly. With no other option, your uncle approached the only person who would help him, knowing all the while that he was about to make a deal with the most ruthless man in the city. The man he went to knew of his problems and about what he and his wife had been through over the past couple of years, losing their entire extended family and their three children, then adopting his niece- you. The man took pity on your uncle and loaned him three million dollars with the agreement that he pay it back within four years or we get retribution in any way we see fit. He signed a contract that if he hadn't paid what he owed in the time given to him; he would give up his house, any and all jewelry he or his wife owned, the rest of his money, as well as you. He signed the contract willingly. The last stipend was not told to anyone until two weeks ago."

"Why?" Bella asked weakly, shocked and appalled at her inclusion in the contract. "Why was I part of the deal?"

"I don't know, love. I don't know. The man your uncle made a deal with didn't trust your uncle and felt something was fishy with the entire situation. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Now that I have seen what they did to you, I'm sorry we weren't able to get you out of there sooner."

"We?"

"My father was the man your uncle made the deal with. I want to tell you this right up front. He's not a nice man. None of us are, but I want you to know that I will keep you safe while you're here. All you have to do is get better and leave the worrying to me. Can you do that?"

"Your father brought me here to get me away from my aunt and uncle?"

He smiled gently at her as he very slowly moved his hand up to her face and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. "That's what I believe."

"They wasted the money away."

"I know."

"They didn't use it to pay any of their debt down, they spent it on alcohol, drugs and gambling. Why would they do that if they knew they had to pay it all back?" Bella asked brokenly as tears welled in her eyes again. "Why would they do that when they know they had to pay it all back or give up everything, including me?"

"I don't know, love," he whispered as he reached up again and brushed the silken locks back away from her face a few times. "All I know is, your uncle came back to my father a few weeks ago and asked him for not only an extended deadline but also for an additional two million. He was so far in debt with everybody, I guess my father decided to collect before everything he owned was gone. I'm sorry that involved you." He swiped his thumb under her eyes to erase the tear tracks that had formed and asked, "If you had the choice, would you rather stay here or go back there?"

Bella pulled her bottom lip between her teeth shyly, thinking for a long moment before she whispered back, "Right now, I wish to stay here, please?"

Edward's left side of his mouth twitched up into a lopsided grin. He nodded at her as he continued to brush her hair back onto the pillow behind her. "You can stay here as long as you want to. You're safe now and have nothing to be scared about. You never have to go back to that place. Just relax. I know you're tired. Close your eyes and try to get back to sleep."

"C-can you stay here? Just for a little while?" Bella asked shyly as she looked up at Edward with a touch of uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yeah, I can stay here until you fall asleep, if that's what you want?" he asked looking into her coffee colored eyes for the answer he already knew.

She nodded as she reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it in closer to her body. Her eyes slowly slid shut after a moment or two and everything became peaceful and quiet as she drifted off into slumber.

Edward looked up at Esme who was standing near the end of the bed with tears rolling down her cheeks and Carlisle, who had his arm around Esme's shoulder, looking just as upset as Edward felt on the inside.

"Don't worry, we're going to get her better, Esme," Carlisle whispered as he pulled her in towards his chest tightly to try to comfort her.

"She's had a horrible hand most of her life. She needs to be happy again. We need to help her…"

"We will. And we are," he whispered against her temple. She nodded against his chest before she motioned for all three of them to leave the room to let her get some uninterrupted sleep.

Edward nodded at her and softly told them, "I'll be out in a minute. I just want to stay with her for another minute or two."

Carlisle and Esme slowly walked out of the room, each taking a few backwards glances at the both of them.

Edward, watching Bella as she slept, was oblivious to their glances. He reached up with his free hand again and started brushing her hair back onto the pillow again as he whispered very quietly into her ear so only her subconscious could hear him.

"You're going to be all right. I'll make sure of it, love."

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><p><strong>*I already have chapter three in the works so make sure to watch for that in the near future. First and foremost, I'd like to thank my beta, she's absolutely wonderful! You know who you are. You have her to thank for making it flow properly. Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews on chapter one, I was not expecting the wonderful things I received. Thank you all for taking the time to stop and review. I appreciate it lots. If you have any questions about this chapter, feel free to leave a review and I will either try to answer them in the next chapter or send you a PM. Thank you all! ~Jo*<strong>

*** Remember, constructive criticism and helpful tips are great, but don't just be mean to be mean.***


	3. Chapter 3

***Tired of writing this, Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and unfortunately, I never will. This disclaimer will be for the rest of this story because I never will be SM.***

**I'll see you all below-**

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><p>Dinner that night started off as a silent affair save for the clinks and clanks of silver wear hitting china and crystal wine glasses being set on the table top. The ten of them sat there, as they tried to ignore the tension in the room.<p>

They made it most of the hour and a half before Rosalie couldn't handle the atmosphere in the room. "So I take it nobody's going to bring up the big, fat elephant sitting in the corner?"

There was a loud clanging sound as a fork dropped to the plate below. Everyone but Edward Senior looked over at Elizabeth as she stared at Rosalie. Edward Senior continued eating his dinner like nothing had happened. He often ignored the other people at the table when they spoke. There was a distinct, unspoken rule; you didn't talk at the dinner table until food was finished.

"I would hope you remember your place, Rosalie," Elizabeth said across the table to her daughter-in-law as she wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin daintily.

"And I would hope you remember, Elizabeth, that my place is wherever I want it to be," Rosalie smiled too sweetly. "I am not in your world, nor do I ever want to be. Emmett, Carlisle, Jasper, and Edward may help their father from time to time on the tough matters he doesn't trust anyone else with, but do not for a second think that any of them are in your world and, by extension, neither are any of their wives, me included."

"Emmett, are you going to let her talk to me that way? I'm your mother!"

"And she's my wife. I don't control her, nor do I even try. She's her own person, mother. She can do and say what she wishes," he remarked as he continued to eat his meal.

"I think we should at least get it all out in the open," Rosalie told the others, "The tension in the room is unbearable all because of that girl..."

"Oh, she's so sweet," Esme cooed. Everyone glanced down the table at her.

"You talked to her?" Alice asked as she bounced in her seat, excited at the prospect of meeting another potential friend. Esme smiled at her sister-in-law down the table, two seats down from Elizabeth, and nodded before she took a sip of her wine and explained what had gone on.

"Oh, we're going to be best friends. I know it," Alice gushed as she bounced in her chair. Jasper wrapped his arm around her shoulders, calming her down greatly. "Think of all the shopping trips we can go on and sleepovers we can all have to bond?"

"She sounds disturbed," Sculpicia mentioned offhandedly.

Rosalie glared down around Emmett at her and snapped, "And how would you know? You've never even met the poor girl. How would you know what she's like?"

Sculpicia scoffed as she set her fork down before she addressed Rosalie, "Esme said she looked frightened. What would she have to be frightened about? It's not like we've hurt her in any way. Plus, she said this girl flinched away from everybody in the room at least once. How much more messed up does one have to be before they're labeled as disturbed? Personally, I plan on staying as far away from her as possible until Senior decides where to put her and what to do with her. I refuse to allow her to stay here in my home where she might hurt one or all of us."

"I second that," Elizabeth spoke up, turning to her husband,"She needs to be out of here quickly. What happened to the plan you came up with? I heard you talking to one of your associates about having her stay with them. What happened with them? Why isn't she over there? Why does she have to be here? I don't like it and I want her out of here as soon as humanly possible."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and scoffed at the both of them. "How stupid do you both have to be? And as for what she has to be scared of, well, I think being kidnapped from your own home is traumatic enough, but being brought to a house in an unknown location, surrounded by complete strangers, I would be flinching away too, and don't even deny you would be as well. And as for hurting someone in this household, from what Esme's saying, I gather she's no more than a hundred and fifteen pounds soaking wet. On top of that, every single man in this room is armed, and is an expert shot. I doubt she would be able to get past them and hurt anybody. She's had a rough time, leave her alone. I bet she's too scared to do much of anything."

"I don't want to take the chance. I still don't want her here in my house," Elizabeth said over the rim of her wine glass before she took a sip.

"Father, may I see you in your office after dinner, please?" Edward inquired from the opposite side of the table as he looked at his food in disgust.

"I think dinner's all but done, why don't you come with me now?"

"Absolutely," Edward mumbled as he pushed away from the dining table and stood up.

Edward had stayed with Bella right up until he was called to dinner. He stayed in her room, brushing her hair back onto the pillow gently as he watched her sleep peacefully; her small, pale hand clasped in his. He stayed there in that chair near the bed for as long as possible before he was summoned to eat with the family.

He knew the moment his parents or Aro and his wife, Sculpicia, realized what he was going through his head, they would skin his hide. He knew this was going to go downhill quickly but he wanted to get in front of this as soon as humanly possible. She was a witness of sorts, a poor bystander caught in the middle of the situation and here he was getting emotionally attached.

Edward stood, quietly but quickly bussed his plate to the kitchen sink and followed his father into Edward Senior's office. Edward didn't bother sitting down in one of the plush leather chairs in front of his father's large, dark stained desk.

Edward Senior looked up at his youngest son and waited for him to start talking. He knew his youngest didn't get worked up over nothing so whatever this was, it had to be something big. He arched his bushy graying brow at his son in impatience.

Edward paced back and forth behind the chairs running his hands through his hair before tugging the ends, trying to determine what he could say and what he couldn't to his father. Finally he gave up trying to edit his thoughts and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "She can't leave."

"And why is that?" Edward Senior asked as he sat back in his chair.

"She needs to stay here. She has nowhere to go… People will find out... She'll be hurt… She doesn't have anyone else… she has absolutely nothing…" Edward rushed out. "I don't care what the others say-"

"Son, stop." Edward Senior interrupted, relieving his son of having to try and come up with any more excuses, "She's not going anywhere." Edward looked at his father in surprise and Senior couldn't hold back the chuckle. "I'm not going to force her out of this house. Almost everything your mother and Sculpicia said during dinner is crap and they know it. Though the part about the plan was correct. I was going to leave her with a few of my associates but the plan fell through. They had to deal with an urgent situation for me. We may have a rat. That was a more pressing issued at the time than babysitting a young girl. I think it turned out better with her here, anyway. They just want everything to go back to normal. They don't do well with change."

Edward slumped into one of the chairs opposite his father and ran his hands through his hair before raking them over his face.

"After what I did to remove her from that house, I'm not just going to throw her out on her own the minute she gets here. But I am going to have to determine what I want to do with her in the long run. I can't just send her out in the world; unfortunately, I can never simply let her go. She knows too much."

"She wouldn't go to the police-"

"I can't take that chance. One little thing can bring this entire organization down and I'm not about to have it be brought down by something as insignificant as letting an eyewitness free. Al Capone was caught because he didn't pay his taxes; a stupid mistake. I will not allow stupid mistakes to by my undoing. Besides, if we don't do something to hold her, our rivals may pick her up and try and use her against us for their gain. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. I can't make her an employee for another year…"

At the sound of a knock on the office door, they both glanced over to see Carlisle waltzing on in. He shut the door behind him before sitting down in the other chair opposite Edward Senior. He brought his right ankle up to rest casually on his left knee asked, "What's going to happen with the girl?"

"We were discussing that before you came in. Any suggestions?"

Carlisle looked over at Edward and observed him for a long moment before he nodded and looked at his father again. "I think I may have one solution that would make everybody reasonably happy as well as offer some protection and ease of mind for everybody involved."

Edward Senior raised his eyebrow at his eldest like only a father could do and asked, "And that would be?"

"Complicated and in depth, but do-able with the right planning."

As the three men continued to jaw-jack, hatching a plan of what to do with the young girl, the women had congregated in the living room with some tea. Esme and Rosalie were sitting on one couch while Sculpicia and Elizabeth were sitting across from them on their own couch with a small rod iron and glass coffee table between them, while Alice had commandeered one of the two armchairs.

These were the times Esme, Alice and Rosalie hated. When the men were in Senior's office, they were compelled to converse with the other two. Esme was the one able to keep her contempt from showing. Rosalie was the one who had a hard time of it. Whenever possible, Esme, Alice and Rosalie broke off and had their own conversations, leaving Sculpicia and Elizabeth to speak together.

"How are things with the boys? Everything's going smoothly, I hope," Elizabeth asked, trying to make her question sound innocent, as she daintily sipped at her tea with her pinkie extended.

Esme forced a smile over her tea cup and took a sip as Alice smiled at her and nodded, keeping her answer as short and succinct as possible, "Jasper's wonderful."

"Carlisle's working a lot, but with his career, it's unavoidable."

Elizabeth looked at Sculpicia for her answer. Sculpicia smiled brightly and gushed about just how wonderful Aro was and how he was doing.

Rosalie interrupted moments later, not able to stomach the drivel coming out of her mouth, "Nobody likes a suck up, Scully, so please stop it. It's making me sick."

"Rosalie," Elizabeth warned in a disapproving tone, "You don't have to be so rude. A mother likes to know she raised her boys right. Besides, do you really think your husband will tolerate your attitude in this life? He will never have any respect from the men if you constantly interrupt and correct other people. How will that look to the others if his own wife can walk right over him?"

"Luckily, I don't have to deal with that, nor will I ever, since Emmett is never going to commit to that lifestyle. And just because you asked so nicely," Rosalie retorted sarcastically at her mother-in-law, "Emmett is more than fine, he makes sure he humps me multiple times a day, we go at it just like rabbits…"

Elizabeth spluttered on her tea just as the men walked into the room. They stopped and stared at the girls not quite sure what to make of the situation before Carlisle walked over to Esme and Edward Senior walked over to Elizabeth to sit for a while. Edward sighed and walked out, unable to watch as the couples in the room reminded him of what he didn't have but desperately wanted and would hopefully get soon.

Edward wondered around the apartment until he looked up and realized his feet brought him to _her_ room. He knocked gently but when there was no answer he simply rested his forehead against the door and closed his eyes for a long moment.

Edward went to bed that night agitated, excited and nervous. He didn't know how Bella was going to take the news, but he was hoping she would be all right with it for the time being. With that time, they could get to know one another and maybe more could blossom. And as strange as it felt for him, he _wanted_ more time with her. He wanted to get to know her more; to make her laugh more, to see her smile more. He wanted to be able to touch her again, innocently, and feel that strange, unexplainable energy again. Carlisle had tried to explain it to him a few years ago but Edward thought he was lying. The first time Edward touched Bella, he became a believer. The strange energy was all consuming and addictive. He couldn't define it and he couldn't explain it to himself, but he just wanted…more.

The days seemed to fly by as father and son worked on the plan. Edward made sure to keep Bella company in her room while time passed, but was sure to keep extremely quiet about what was in the works, even when Bella pressed for answers. He didn't want to tell her what had to happen until absolutely necessary; for fear she would resent him. He needed all the time he could get with her before that happened.

A week after Bella was brought to the apartment, Edward Senior requested Edward meet him in his office and announced that it was all done. Everything was organized and it was official in the eyes of the law. There was absolutely no going back now.

"How are you going to broach the subject?"

"I have no clue," Edward sighed in frustration as he ran his hands through his mop of messy hair. "How does one bring the subject up, 'hey, I have something to tell you that will change the rest of your life, but don't worry, everything's going to be ok…?' Somehow I don't think that'll go over too well."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Edward Senior mused as his desk phone started to ring.

Edward realized that was his cue to leave and closed the door on his way out. He quickly made his way up to Bella's room and knocked gently on the door. Bella quietly called to come in.

He carefully opened the door and looked around the room, finding Bella sitting in the reading nook on the other side of the room. He smiled at her when she looked up from the book. Her face broke out into a gigantic smile and she bookmarked her spot, placing the novel down.

"Hi," she said quietly. Shyly.

His smile widened as he walked over and sat down next to her, "Hey you. How are you?"

She shrugged and looked out the window. "I've been better, but then again, I've also been worse. So I guess I have nothing to complain about. What about you?"

"I guess I'm all right. Same as you, I've been worse but I've also been better."

"That's good," Bella replied as she nodded and looked out the window. The sky was dull and everything seemed to be shades of grey. She didn't bother looking at Edward again as she asked, "Do you think now I might be able to leave this room?"

"What do you mean? You've always been able to leave the room…."

She shook her head, still not looking at Edward. "No. Nobody said I could so I've never left the room."

"I'm sorry nobody's talked to you about it. Yes, you can leave the room. I guess we all thought you knew that. Just don't leave the apartment without telling someone. I'll have Alice get you some things that you'll need when you venture out."

"Who's Alice again?"

"She's Jasper's wife."

"And Jasper's your brother?"

He smiled at her and nodded once. "Yes. He's a year older than me."

"And Carlisle's your other brother?"

"He's one. I have four other brothers. Aro, Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper; in that order, we're all a year apart."

"When you're done with this…life…what are you going to do? What kind of job are you going to get?"

"I own a number of hotels, most of them here in the USA, but there are a few abroad. All of us have various things we keep on the up and up just in case. Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you just do that job? Why do you work for your father on various…jobs?"

Edward shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "He needs my help and I'm skilled with firearms. I'm quick. I get the job done without leaving anything behind. I'm one of, if not _the_ best in the business. That being said, I just want to make it clear I am only involved with a few specific…jobs that he thinks would be best suited for my…talents."

"So you're not doing these kinds of things every single day?"

"I have to deal with this reality every day, but I'm not out completing these jobs every day, no. It's more like once every two weeks or so."

Edward watched her for a long while before he patted her knee and asked, "What would you like to do today? We can go exploring in the city and do the tourist things or I can give you a tour of the apartment. Whatever you'd like to do; it's up to you." He stared at her as she thought about what it was she wanted to do. He knew the exact moment she thought of something because her entire face lit up. There was a sparkle in her eyes that previously wasn't there. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. She looked absolutely beautiful when she was like this, happy and so full of life. "What is it?"

"Do you have any chocolate here?"

"What kind of chocolate? Like See's candy?"

"No, like baking chocolate. The kind you can melt down and make things with…"

He shook his head in the negative and told her, "I don't think we do, but if you give me a list of everything you'll need for whatever it is you're thinking of doing, I can have someone go out and fetch the supplies."

"Really?" Bella asked becoming more and more animated by the passing seconds.

Edward laughed heartily and nodded to her.

She sprung up from her seat and made a mad dash towards the desk where she knew there would be pens and paper. She quickly scribbled out a small grocery list and walked back over to Edward. She handed him the list as he asked, "What are you thinking of making?"

She bit her lower lip nervously and asked, "Do you think it would be all right if I make truffles? I mean, I'll clean up afterwards and everything, but-"

"Bella," Edward chuckled again at her nervous demeanor, "It'll be perfectly fine. In fact, I think everyone would like a treat this afternoon. Are they hard to make?"

"Not really… it's really fun."

"Let's go downstairs to the kitchen and make sure we have everything else you might need for making these truffles while I send one of the men out to the store to get everything."

Edward escorted Bella out of the bedroom and over to a nearby wall with cream color accents and pressed a button. The door opened revealing the inside of a lavish elevator. They took it down three floors to the lowest floor of the family's high rise apartment, which stood in the heart of the city, and turned the corner. They walked through the very neat and tidy living room and turned the corner entering the extremely large forest green and white décor kitchen.

Bella damn near died when she stepped foot into the kitchen. Edward could hear the small gasp that escaped from her lips as her eyes bounced around the room, not knowing what to take in first. The kitchen she had stepped into was large with gorgeous counter top space to work, four ovens, two stove tops with eight burners each, three sinks to one side of the stove tops, a bar, two islands in the middle, and lastly two refrigerators and freezers on the opposite side of the islands. She had never seen something this beautiful before in her life. It was enormous, and the one she had to cook in at Phil and Sue's house paled in comparison. She was so excited to cook in this large, state of the art kitchen with brand new appliances that she couldn't keep the silly smile off her face.

"You like the kitchen?" Edward asked even though he could read it all over her face.

"Oh! Edward! How could I not? It's so big and beautiful! I've never seen a kitchen like this before! The kitchen at my aunt and uncle's house was so run down and small. I had to rotate whatever I put in the oven every fifteen minutes so it didn't burn. I had to plan my day to make sure I got everything in the oven on time to be able to eat it for dinner, and Thanksgiving was just atrocious. It almost killed me each year. If I had only had this kitchen to work in... I would never have left!" Bella exclaimed as she ran her hand over the cool-to-the-touch marble countertops.

"You made dinner?"

"Yes. Each night I would come home from school and work on the house work that needed to be done. You know, the cleaning and the laundry and whatnot. At four thirty I would stop the housework and make dinner. It needed to be on the table at seven on the dot, otherwise…well, I'm sure you can guess. It was never done properly. Uncle Phil always had something to say about the food. It was undercooked. It was over cooked. It was burnt. It was too salty. It wasn't salty enough. The taste wasn't pleasing. You get the idea. After dinner, I would do the dishes, finish up with the housework that needed to be done and then I would finally be able to start in on homework for an hour or so. About nine I would get my punishment for whatever I did wrong during the day and if I was lucky, I would be able to finish with my homework that was due the next day."

"What do you mean if you were lucky?" Edward asked stepping forward with his brows furrowed in confusion and concern written all over his face.

Bella looked over at him with sad eyes. They weren't just sad; they held a lifelong sadness and pain to them that broke Edward's heart. "I mean, if he didn't beat me too bad that I passed out; I usually wouldn't wake up until the next day when that happened. I had to finish up the homework during the breaks at school." She traced a speck of green in the marble with the tip of her right index finger as she mumbled, "Maybe if I was better in the kitchen, making dinner, I wouldn't have been beaten all the time."

"Bella. Look at me," Edward voiced with a harsh determined tone. Her head popped up and she looked at him with large, fearful eyes. "I don't know what you went through and frankly, I don't know if I could handle hearing about it. All I know is, your aunt and uncle were abusive. You did not deserve what they did to you. They abused you. No matter what you did or didn't do, they were going to continue with it until you got out of there, alive or not. Personally, I'm happy you got out of there alive."

The smile on her lips was tentative as she looked up at him. "I'm kinda happy I got out alive, too."

Just then a young man with black, slicked back hair walked into the kitchen carrying three plastic grocery bags in each arm. He set them down on the counter and turned to Edward as he asked, "Anything else?"

"No Banner. That's all for now."

"Thank you!" Bella said sweetly to the older man. Banner turned, looked at her and nodded once before finally leaving.

Edward couldn't contain his smile when he looked back at Bella. Bella caught on and asked, "What?"

Edward shook his head and chuckled as he told her, "That is the biggest response he's ever given anyone but me. He must really like you."

"Ha! What a load of crock!" Bella laughed outright.

"I'm not kidding," he continued to chuckle, "It took me years to get him to just acknowledge my presence and the first time he sees you, he's doing so. You must have some sort of voodoo; or at least make a very good first impression. He likes you."

"You're lying," Bella mumbled as she went over to the bags and started rooting around to check if she had everything for her truffles. She smiled as she laid everything out on the countertop. She turned to Edward and asked, "Do you want to help or do you have something better to do?"

"I'm at your service. Teach me," he joked as he stepped up to Bella.

"Ok, we're going to need a couple double boilers-"

"And those would be?"

Bella looked at Edward as if he had a third eye. "It's a pot that sits on top another one. Haven't you ever made candy or melted chocolate before?"

He looked sheepish as he admitted, "Not really. The cook Mr. Varner usually did all that. I haven't ever really stepped foot in the kitchen to make anything more than a sandwich."

"Well, we're going to have to change that right now." Bella walked around the kitchen opening up cupboards and drawers to find what she would need. As she found the items, she would pull them out and set them where they would be used. She found a few double boilers under the stoves and pulled them out.

She handed the bottoms over to Edward and told him to fill them up about half way with water. When she got them back, she set them on the stove to boil. When she deemed fit, she poured the different colored chocolate into each of the top halves of the boilers.

As the outer shell was melting, Bella poured in some of the whipping cream and some of the butter into three of the pots to make the creamy, gooey insides. The insides were the best part. Edward watched her as she moved seamlessly around the kitchen. She was definitely in her element here.

"What are you doing there?" Edward asked as he tried to peer into the pots she was stirring consistently.

"I'm making the insides. The ones you're stirring are going to be used as the shells."

"What kinds are we making?"

"Today we're making strawberry, raspberry and blueberry. You can make them out of any flavor you want really. I thought I would keep it simple this time around."

"All right, now what do we do? My chocolate is all melted."

Bella picked up the dome shaped mould sheets and returned to Edward and his pots. She held out one of the moulds and held up a spoon. She picked up her own spoon and showed it to Edward. "Ok, what we're going to do now is make the outside moulds. What you want to do is take a spoonful of chocolate and put it in each of the spheres before swirling it around. Make sure it's evenly coated and that there will be no weak points by holding it up to the light. If there is light coming through, you need to put a touch more chocolate in the mould. Once all the moulds are filled, you put it in the fridge to harden for a couple of minutes."

Bella quickly finished her sheet of six moulds and moved onto another sheet while Edward carefully filled each of the moulds on his first sheet trying to make sure they were all perfect. Bella watched him as she swirled the chocolate around one of her spheres and tried to suppress her smile. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing at just how serious Edward was being about every little detail being perfect.

By the time Edward finished one tray Bella had already finished four and a half. Edward figured it was because she had done this a lot as he slipped his tray into the fridge and came back to start on another tray of the same color. It didn't take them long to finish five trays of each of the three different colored chocolate.

As they waited for the shells to harden, they made their way over to the fillings. Bella handed him a spatula and told him to stir as she put some of the jams into each of the three pots. When they were all mixed, Bella brought the cooled shells out to the counter. She took a tray and showed Edward how to fill the shell halfway, then placing a piece of fruit into the center before filling it the rest of the way. Again, Bella was quicker at the repetitive practice than Edward was.

As the last of the pots were scraped into the last remaining truffles, Edward asked, "How did you learn to make these?"

"My mom taught me. I have a whole bunch of family recipes I got from her. Most of them aren't in any cookbooks out there."

"It sounds like you used to do a lot with her."

Bella smiled sadly over at him as she put the remaining trays in the fridge. "I did. When my dad was killed on the job I didn't adjust well. I kind of clung to her, if you will. I think it was my way of trying to hold onto my father. I was daddy's little girl after all. After she died, I guess I kind of became a shell of who I was. I didn't mean to, but it just sort of happens. You try and hold onto the better times and try and put the bad ones out of your mind even as it's happening."

Edward opened his mouth to respond to her but she ignored him and pulled out the solid truffles. She smiled at him and walked back over to the shell chocolate pots. She picked up the spoons again and showed him how to close the truffles on the bottom. They worked silently next to one another, closing the truffles and putting them back in the fridge one last time.

When all the truffles were done and in the fridge, Bella was cleaning up the utensils they had used when she felt something gooey hit her cheek. She looked up at Edward in shock before she touched where it landed and pulled her fingers back. There on her fingertips was a blue substance. Blue chocolate. They had used it on the blueberry truffles.

She looked over at Edward from her fingers completely shocked and saw him looking at her with a gigantic gin on his lips, a spoon in his right hand covered in the same blue chocolate and the pan that held the melted chocolate in his left hand.

"Did you just-" she started to ask when more of the blue chocolate was flung through the air and hit her smack dab in the middle of her face. Her mouth gaped open as she tried to come to terms of what he had just done.

"Yes. I just threw chocolate on you. What are you going to do about it?" Edward goaded her, trying to get a response.

"Why you little-" Bella said as she grabbed another pot of melted chocolate and flung some at Edward. The pink substance landed in his hair and streaked down his face before coming to a stop on his shirt.

Bella saw him standing there shocked that she had actually retaliated and tried to stifle her giggles. She didn't last long and before long she was all out laughing, deep belly laughs. Edward was a funny sight to see indeed.

The chocolate fight that followed was messy and childish. When there was more chocolate on their faces and in their hair than in the pots, Edward and Bella placed the pots in the sink as they laughed at themselves. The mess they had made covered almost every surface in the kitchen in pink, blue or a combination of both creating a purplish color when smeared by a passing hand.

When the laughing receded, Bella looked around at the mess and sighed, "Look at the mess we made. Making it is a lot more fun than having to clean it up, that's for sure-"

"That's what Mrs. Groff is for. She's the housekeeper, she'll do it."

"Edward, we can't just make a mess and just expect someone else clean it up. That's just mean-"

"Nonsense, Dearie," a middle aged woman in a maid's uniform came walking into the kitchen. She smiled at them before she chuckled and said, "I would be more than happy to clean up this mess just to see the smile on both your faces. Edward, I haven't seen that look in years. It's good to have it back. And you, Missy, I need to thank for putting it there. Now, are you done in here yet or do you want me to come back in a few minutes?"

Bella looked at the clock above the doorway and bit her lip before asking "I'm sorry to do this, but would you mind coming back in five minutes? That's all we'll need to decorate the truffles."

"You two made truffles?" the maid asked with extreme bewilderment on her face. Bella nodded with a beaming smile on her face. "With Edward's help?" Bella nodded again as the maid laughed and replied, "I'm surprised he didn't either bail out or burn the place down. I swear, he would burn water if it was at all possible."

"No, he did a wonderful job, ma'am-"

"Ma'am!" she laughed loudly looking from Bella to Edward and back, "honey, nobody's ever called me ma'am before. Just call me Sarah from now on. I hope you'll stick around for a while?" she asked looking back at Edward. Edward nodded as he swiped some chocolate off his neck. "Alright then, Dearies, I'll see you in a few minutes then," she said in a sing-song voice as she walked out of the room.

Bella pulled out the paintbrushes and the pearl dust and placed them on the counter before pulling out the trays of truffles. She twisted the trays like they were ice cube trays and out popped the chocolates onto the counter top below. She picked up one of the paintbrushes and showed it to Edward. It was a type of painters' brushes with the soft bristles that fanned out.

Bella dipped it in one of the pearl dust colors and spread it all out over the truffle. They decorated each of the truffles in various different colors in record time. Edward managed to get the dust all over the counters and his clothes while Bella was able to keep it on the plate. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the glitter on the tip of his nose and smeared on his forehead.

When the truffles were done, they placed them on different serving trays according to flavor and set them on the only clean surface in the kitchen. Bella was washing the brushes when they both heard a booming voice ask, "What the hell is this blue stuff in the hallway?"

Edward groaned as he rolled his eyes and called back, "It's called chocolate, Emmett!"

"I've never heard of blue chocolate!" boomed Emmett. "I thought it was supposed to be brown."

"They have different color chocolate now, Emmett."

Emmett stepped into the kitchen accompanied by a stunning blonde woman, who stood behind him. Bella had to crane her neck back to be able to look him in the eyes, he was so tall. His muscles scared her, too. He could squish her like a bug if he so chose to. The dark brown hair was offset by his pale skin. The only thing that made him look less threatening were the dimples on his face when he smiled down at Bella when he saw her in the room.

Bella smiled back at the mountain tentatively before she found herself being wrapped up in a bear hug, lifted off the ground and swung around like a ragdoll. Only when Edward scolded him did he set her down on the ground again.

"Don't scare her, Emmett."

"I'm not!"

Edward sighed, shook his head and looked over at Bella. He smiled at her and introduced all of them. "Bella, I'd like you to meet my brother, Emmett, and his wife, Rosalie. Emmett, Rose, I'd like you to meet Bella Swan."

"Nice to meet you both," Bella blushed brightly.

Emmett chuckled at her physical response and revealed, "Yes, I'm Edward's older, more distinguished and better looking brother."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and smiled at Bella, "Don't mind him, he's just an over grown child most of the time."

"Good to know," Bella joked.

"So, you made something with chocolate? What was it?" Emmett asked hungrily.

Rosalie shook her head and muttered, "Such a girl with his chocolate and PMS sometimes."

"Truffles," Edward pointed to the trays.

Emmett looked over and his eyes couldn't have sparkled any brighter when he took in the sheer number of truffles sitting there, waiting to be devoured and consumed. Then he smiled deviously before turning to Edward and Bella as Rosalie asked, "Did you two make them?"

"Absolutely. There are strawberry, raspberry and blueberry," Bella answered shyly.

"They look like tits!" Emmett screamed before he started laughing his butt off.

Rosalie, Bella and Edward looked over at the truffles as Emmett continued to laugh hysterically. The smack that resounded through the room made Bella cringe away and into Edward as Rosalie scolded Emmett for being so crass and childish.

"I'd hate to see the Barbie they came from," Bella mumbled, which just made Emmett laugh louder and Rosalie and Edward crack smiles.

Rosalie looked at Edward, noticing the different colored chocolate all over him for the first time and asked, "What happened after you finished the truffles? Did the remainder of the chocolate explode?"

Bella giggled and shouted, "He started it!" before Edward could voice his own, faulty conclusion.

Edward playfully glared over at her before he straightened up, looked at Rosalie and distinctly told her, "It's all her fault. She was the one who started the food fight, I just finished it."

"Oh, yeah," Bella quipped, "If you were the one who ended it, why do you have chocolate down the back of your shirt? On the inside no less."

Rose smirked at Edward and playfully asked, "She schooled you on the art of the food fight, Edward? How disgraceful! I thought you were supposed to be better than that."

At that moment, Sarah returned to the kitchen and smiled brightly at the four of them. Bella blushed again and muttered something about going to take a shower and scuttled out of the room quickly.

"I like her. She's got some fire in her," Rose told Edward quietly as Emmett eyed the chocolate candies and Sarah started cleaning.

"If she keeps making goodies like this, I vote she stays a while," Emmett said as he popped one of the treats into his mouth and moaned loudly at the taste. "Besides, she makes you happy."

"She'll be around for a while. Probably longer than either of you two realize," Edward mumbled.

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked while popping another truffle in his mouth, this time choosing a different flavor, though moaning just like before.

"Never mind," Edward replied shaking his head.

Emmett popped the third and final flavor in his mouth and moaned before looking Edward straight in the eye and telling him, "I like her too. And these are all that's good in the world."

Edward picked up and truffle and began to walk out when Rosalie called after him. He stopped and turned back to her before she told him, "You hurt her, I break your legs. Understand?" Edward nodded gravely. He knew she was being completely serious. He didn't have any intention of hurting her. Ever.

As he walked up the stairs in the apartment to his floor, the fourth floor, he put the chocolate in his mouth and groaned out loud as his eyes rolled back into his skull. Emmett was right; those little chocolate boobs they had made together were all that was good in the world.

A little over two hours later, Edward sat on the couch in the nook and reclined his head, waiting for Bella to emerge from her bathroom. He was sure she was trying to get the chocolate out of her hair. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped when he thought back to his own shower and how hard that chocolate was to get out. He could only imagine what she was going through with her long hair.

He ran his hand through his hair to try to dull the pain. He looked around the spare bedroom and noticed none of it looked like Bella. The color combination was perfect for her. Her creamy pale skin was beautiful against the blues around the room, but nothing was personal in there. There were no pictures, no doo-dads that cluttered up the room he thought all girls had. There was nothing in the room that told Edward who Bella was as a person. The book she had been reading. That was the only thing. How was he going to find out who she really was when he had no way to look inside her for the real her. He would have to change that soon. A shopping trip may be helpful to both of them. She would be able to decorate the room however she wanted and get the little trinkets to make it feel like home and he would be able to look into her personality without being too intrusive with questions.

But first, he thought, she had to agree to stay.

Edward leaned forward and put his face in his hands, waiting for Bella to emerge so they could really talk about what happened and how her life, as well as his own, would forever be changed. This was a sticky situation and he didn't know how he was going to tell her, he just knew he needed to before she heard it from someone else first and felt betrayed.

"You look a little…nervous about something," Bella startled him as she came out of the bathroom quietly and put the used towel into the nearby hamper. She grabbed the towel off her head and started hand drying her hair as best she could to keep from getting a cold.

Edward jumped, looking up at her and force a smile that looked more like a grimace, "Uh…yeah, well, I'm good…"

Picking up on Edward's unease, Bella sat down across from him, still drying her hair and asked "What's going on? What's wrong?"

Edward looked over at her and shook his head, "Well, I have something I need to tell you and I don't know if it's bad or not. It's not to me, but I don't know you well enough to predict how you'll feel."

"Just tell me, please. There's no reason to beat around the bush."

"Ok, well, here it goes then… you know you're only seventeen, right?"

"Of course." She looked at him confusedly. How could he wonder if she knew her own age? But then again, he was rambling and obviously nervous, so she gave him some leeway. Though she had been feeling comfortable around him earlier in the kitchen, his sudden nervousness put her on edge, and she wondered if she should be worried.

"Right." Edward shook his head and took a deep, calming breath before continuing.

"Well, given that you are only seventeen, if you were to be sent back to California you would become a ward of the state until you turn eighteen, and we can't allow any authorities access to question you. There are a lot of people in our organization that we simply can't trust right now, so we can't entrust you to them. Given everything that has happened, not just over the last week, but over the past few years, my father feels that you need to be kept here with us. Our family has a rule that all employees be eighteen or over, a rule which has never been broken, so my father will not bring you into our household as an employee. We feel that the only way to keep you and us safe, explain why you are permanently in our house and make everything seem legitimate is if you and I were to be married." He looked over at Bella sheepishly.

She sat back against the seat, looking at him, wondering if he was being serious or not. When she determined he was, her face froze and her eyes widened as the meaning of his words sank in. "S-so w-we need t-to m-m-marry?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before he rested his face in his hands and groaned. Everything was quiet for a long moment before he leaned back on the bench seat and looked over at Bella. He sighed again and braced himself for the impact of his next words, "We don't need to…because we already are…"

"What!" she shrieked, unable to control the volume of her voice. "How is that possible? I mean, I'm only seventeen! Am I even able to get married? I didn't agree to anything! I didn't say I do, or… or…. Isn't that against the law?"

"Normally, it would be," Edward conceded as he nodded and then continued, "But do you remember the first time we talked when I told you my father isn't the best of men, well he's not. He's the head of the Cullen family here in Chicago. Have you ever heard of the Cullen family?"

"No," Bella answered weakly.

"The Cullen family is the most feared family in the underworld. We're part of the Mafia. Like I said, my father is the head of the family. My brothers and I work with him sometimes but we only dabble. We know how to… take care of people quickly and efficiently, or slowly after we've tortured them. But only in extreme circumstances requiring retribution. However, that being said, we're not consumed by that world, and I've never killed a woman or a child. They're untouchables in my eyes. My father, Edward Senior, can make anything and everything happen in this city. He has a lot of people in his pockets to get what he wants. The age of consent is seventeen in Illinois. You would need your parental signature to actually get married. Since your aunt and uncle are…gone… we needed to come up with a plan. The death certificates would take too long and would alert the authorities while having your guardian's signature would help explain a few of the things that would look suspicious otherwise."

"What did you come up with?" Bella questioned weakly, unsure if she wanted to hear this.

"Well, once we decided this was the only course of action, we quickly got our guy to forge the signature of your uncle and aunt while my father contacted a judge. We had the judge sign the paperwork just in case, just to be on the safe side. We had our document forger fake your signature and paid off the official who needed to witness that you were willing and able to marry me. We're married. I know this probably isn't something you want, and I definitely didn't want it like this, but this was the one and only way to keep both you and me safe from everybody, from the cops to our rivals. I'm sorry to force this on you, but we didn't have a choice."

"D-did you want t-to marry me just for the spousal benefits? I mean, now they can't subpoena me to testify against you. Is that the reason you wanted this?"

Edward looked into her eyes and answered honestly, "Absolutely not. I know we don't know much about one another and haven't known each other for very long, but I want to deal with our current situation together, and work it out. We can work this through. I know we can. I know I'm probably not the man you deserve, I'm not the type of man you ever thought you would end up with, but I can promise you I will always keep you safe. You don't have to worry about being taken care of here with me. No one will ever hurt you again. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you, but we wanted to make sure everything was organized before I confessed everything to you. I'm also sorry I kept this from you. As you might see, I needed to protect everyone involved."

"What does this mean for us? What's going to change now that we're married?"

"Nothing. I expect nothing from you, but to be open to the possibility of getting to know one another better. They say communication and trust are the foundation for any relationship, right? Why don't we start there and see where that leads us?"

"So you're not going to make me have sex with you?" Bella asked skeptically.

"No. I can tell you're not ready for that. And anyway, you're not even eighteen, and that just seems so wrong. Let's set aside that issue for now, at least until you turn eighteen. Besides, I don't want to chance my luck having sex with an underage girl, even if you are my wife. I don't want to be thrown into jail on a technicality. Is that all right with you?"

Bella nodded furiously, "Thank you. I'm not ready for that. I always thought I would be the old spinster with a million cats, knitting on the front porch. I think it'll take a little time to get it through my head that I'm married."

Edward laughed heartily and mused, "I didn't know you young-uns knew the word spinster…. But I know what you mean. I've known about it longer and I still can't get it through my head. I mean, I'm only twenty five and I'm married…" Edward chuckled in disbelief.

"I'm only seventeen," Bella whispered in response.

Edward took her hand gently, stroking his fingers over the back of her hand. "It's a lot to take in, I understand. Why don't I leave you with your thoughts, and we'll talk some more about this later, when you've had a chance to digest it all?"

Bella smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. Perhaps I need some time to myself for a little while, and I could use a nap right about now."

Edward looked back at her from the doorway as she slipped into the bed. He smiled softly to himself as he closed the door behind him and walked the hallway to the stairs.

"_That could have gone better;"_ he thought to himself as he recalled her shocked look and shriek, _"but it could have been a whole lot worse, too."_

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><p><strong>AN: I am currently starting to work on Chapter 4. I will be spacing out the updates a little more for the time being due to school and RL, however, it wont be by much, maybe a week and a half instead of a week. (I know this update took two weeks and I'm going to try and prevent that in the future.) I never knew how much work and time posting a story takes, but I'm glad I learned. It's a real eye opener.**

**Again, none of this would be possible without the help of my beta! She's wonderful! She keeps my rambling in check as well as my commas and run on sentences. What would I do without her?**

**Again, leave a review if you want to, but constructive criticism is wanted. Dont just leave a mean comment just to be mean. That doesn't help anyone.**

**Thank You All!**

**jmbc**


	4. Chapter 4

***I do not own Twilight.***

**I know you guys dont read these, so I'll see you below.**

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><p>The Friday following his confession to her, Edward knocked on Bella's bedroom door. When she cautiously opened it to peak through to see who it was, Edward saw her lips twitch up before she opened the door further.<p>

"Hi," she mumbled shyly. He grinned at her shyness and saw the blush slowly color her cheeks. He was pleased at her reaction to him, especially with the reaction she had the last time they talked.

Edward had left her to her thoughts the rest of the week, trying to give her space to come to terms with what he had revealed. He didn't want to smother her and he didn't want to make it seem like he was forcing her into anything. He figured he'd give her some time before taking her out to get some things for the room and that's what he was doing at her door that overcast morning.

"Hey you. I was thinking we need to get some stuff for this room to make it look more like you. What do you say? You want to go shopping with me?"

Bella looked at him skeptically and asked, "A guy that wants to go shopping? Willingly, I might add… are you real?"

Edward chuckled. "Yes I'm real. I just thought it would give us some time to learn about each other and maybe get some things you may need while you're here. You know, two birds, one stone. How does that sound? Do you trust me enough to spend the day out with me?"

"Uh…" She looked down at the clothes she was wearing before asking, "Give me twenty minutes to get ready and then we can go?"

"Sure," he said biting the inside of his mouth to keep from blurting that she looked fine in what she was wearing.

Bella shut her bedroom door and looked around the room. She didn't have much she could wear, only the things Esme had brought in for her. She ran around the room, trying to get an outfit together that would look good and not embarrass Edward to be seen with her.

She finally settled on a pair of jeans that didn't fit quite right and a shirt that was just a bit too tight around the chest and pulled it to try to fix it, finally giving up when it wouldn't lay the way she wanted it to. Bella prayed that they would be able to buy a few pairs of clothes that fit right just in case she had to go out again. She had not had new clothes since her parents died, either freshly bought or given to her. She grabbed her only pair of shoes, a pair of sandals, and slipped them on as she flung the door open.

Edward jumped as he looked up, worried something was wrong but relaxed when he saw Bella stumbling out of the door, rushing. He smiled at the picture and stood.

Bella looked up, saw him and smiled as she asked, "Ready to go?"

Edward looked over her clothing choice, tried hard not to grimace and asked, "Are you wearing that?"

Bella's shoulders slumped as she quietly told him, "I don't have very many clothing choices. Only the ones Esme gave me. And I only have one pair of shoes…" She looked down at her clothing and asked, "Do you want me to go change into something else? I'm sure I can find something better-"

"Nope," Edward told her, trying to make his voice sound a little more upbeat. "You look fine, I was just hoping you had a jacket or something. It's kind of cold out there and I don't want you getting sick."

"Oh…I don't have a coat…" Bella whispered.

"Well you can borrow one of mine then and we'll just need to buy one for you when we're out. That's what today is about. I've got a big, long list from Alice on what we need to buy for you. There are a number of places all over Chicago we're going to be stopping at today so are you ready to get shopping?"

Bella nodded as she shut her door behind her before the two of them made their way to the elevator. They got off on the bottom floor of the apartment and went to the mudroom where Edward pulled out a black, heavy duty, pea coat and helped Bella in before turning her around and buttoning up the buttons for her. He grabbed a second pea coat for himself in a dark grey color before showing her out to the main building elevator.

On the way down to the garage, Edward pulled out a couple of pieces of paper from his back pocket and unfolded them. Bella, letting her curiosity get the best of her asked, "What are those?"

Edward looked up at her inquisitive face and chuckled. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"But without curiosity, the world would still be flat," Bella bit back, "the sun would still revolve around the earth and gravity wouldn't be in the English language. Now, what are those? Please tell me?"

"This," Edward revealed as he looked up at her, "Is the list Alice made for us. It has everything you'll need."

Bella paled at the size of the list. It had to be tiny font with four or five different columns on each side of the paper. The list was three sheets of paper, front and back. She snatched the lists out of his hands and her eyes bugged as she started looking through the different items.

The elevator dinged and they made their way over to the black, sleek, stretched town car. It wasn't quite a limo, yet it wasn't a regular town car either. Edward held the back door open and helped her in before he slipped in behind her.

Bella had leaned forward into the front seat where Banner was and sweetly asked him, "By any chance do you have a pen I could borrow for a minute or two?"

Banner wordlessly pulled out a thin sharpie and handed it back to her. She smiled brightly at him and kissed his cheek quickly before thanking him and sitting back down. Banner looked back at her with surprised eyes before glancing over at a very amused Edward. He turned around and started driving still not quite sure what was happening.

Edward watched Bella closely as she studied the list. Her brow scrunched adorably as she read over the entire list before going back to the beginning. She grabbed the pen from behind her ear and started crossing different things off the list. He watched how she would think about each item before she ultimately decided if she wanted or needed it.

When they pulled up to the mall Edward wanted to visit first, Edward tapped her knee to get her attention. She looked up at him then around at her surroundings. She smiled and leaned forward into the front seat again. She handed Banner the pen back before kissing his cheek quickly, thanked him again and hopped out with Edward's help.

Edward watched her closely as she looked around and just as the crinkle between her eyebrows formed, he explained, "It's called the Water Tower Place Mall. How do you want to do this? Top to bottom or bottom to top? Only certain stores?"

"Can we look at the directory? I don't know what stores are in there. I doubt we'll need to hit each one of them."

"Not a problem…"

The mall was surprisingly noisy and crowded that Friday morning with families out and about trying to get what they needed and teenagers in gaggles, hanging out with their friends, wasting away the day, ditching classes. Little kid shrieks could be heard echoing around the spacious mall with a thrum of other abstract noises that were heard in every mall around the country.

The smells in the food court were heavenly. They, like the sounds, were found in any other mall in America. Each designed to pull you in, make you hungry and seduce you into eating at their place.

Bella tried to resist the food, but in the end, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet that day. She looked over at Edward and asked, "Do you mind if we get something to eat first? I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving."

Edward smiled brightly at her and asked, "Where would you like to eat? I'm sure I can get a table at the Decca…?"

"A restaurant? But what about all the eateries right here in front of us?"

Edward looked over at each of them before he grimaced and asked, "Are they any good?"

Bella gasped loudly as she looked at Edward with wide, surprised eyes, "You've never eaten from a mall eatery?"

"No. I can't say that I have," he quipped, "Why would I, if I can afford any restaurant in the city?"

"Oh, you poor, sheltered man," Bella sighed shaking her head playfully. "It looks like it's up to me to change your opinion on the lowly eateries, huh?"

"What are you hungry for?"

"Cheese sauce," Bella told him with a straight face.

Edward looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow and asked, "Cheese sauce?"

Bella nodded. "Cheese sauce."

"Where, pray tell, does one go to get cheese sauce?" Edward asked slightly amused and slightly unhinged to get that answer.

Bella smiled brightly as she grabbed his arm and dragged him over to a nearby pretzel store. There were a few people in line, but that didn't deter Bella one little bit. She clamped down on Edward's arm to make him stay with her and smiled up at him.

Edward didn't know what to make of this quirky girl next to him. He looked from her up to the sign with items for sale and grimaced slightly. _Did she really expect him to eat this stuff?_ It looked disgusting and who knew what kind of rodents crawled around in the ingredients every night…

"Don't do that," Bella chided as they moved up one more spot in line.

"Do what?" Edward inquired.

"You're judging before you even try it. Don't judge. The pretzels are good. I promise. We had one back home I used to love visiting when I was a little girl. My mom would bring me to the mall every month and it was our little secret. She would get me a pretzel with cheese sauce and we would either window shop or people watch. Either one was fun and interesting. I promise if you don't like it then we can go somewhere your snooty butt wants to go for lunch."

"Promise?"

"Yep," she said as she popped the 'p.' They stepped up to the counter and Bella asked, "Can we get a regular salted pretzel with two things of cheese sauce and…" she looked over at Edward for his order.

Edward grimaced again but reminded himself he would try it first before judging anything, "I'll take a garlic unsalted with some ranch sauce…"

"Two things of ranch sauce, please…" Bella corrected.

The cashier rang up the order as the other worker pulled out two freshly made pretzels and placed them in a bag. He grabbed the tubs of dipping sauce and threw them in before handing the bag over. Edward paid the seven dollars to the cashier as Bella took the bag.

She grabbed his arm so he wouldn't run away and pulled him over to a nearby bench. She plopped down and started rummaging through the bag, pulling Edward's pretzel with the tubs of dipping sauce and all but threw them at him as she dove in to get her own food.

She pulled out her tubs and opened them first, set them on her legs and then pulled out her greasy, salty, scrumptious looking pretzel and moaned loudly.

Edward sat there staring at her as she bit down, then tore off a piece and ate it enthusiastically. He watched as she continued with that much zest with the entire pretzel, dipping it for all it was worth before biting into it and tearing it apart. As it happened more often since he met her, Edward's mind wandered to thoughts of he and Bella, naked in his bed. But he cringed inwardly as he watched her tearing into the pretzel, and he made the mental note to discourage any use of teeth. That would not feel good, her chomping down on him like that.

She looked over at him when she only had a little left and swallowed her mouthful before she asked, "Don't you like it?"

Edward blinked a few times and snapped out of it before he looked down at his own pretzel and said, "Yeah, it's fine. I was just watching you devour that thing."

Bella blushed as she ducked her head. A patch of hair swung into his line of view, blocking her face from him. He reached over and gently pushed it behind her ear. He tugged her chin to have her look at him and she quickly whispered, "Sorry. I told you I was hungry…"

He nodded once at her, "That you did." He broke out into a smile and told her, "I'm just not used to someone being that enthusiastic about subpar food. That's all."

Bella bit her lower lip and revealed, "Sometimes you just crave something completely bad for you. My mom used to crave the Taco Bell meat that wasn't actually meat because it was so greasy. It was only once in a while, but sometimes you just need to hit that spot. I wanted to remember the good days I had with my mom…I can do that by eating one of these pretzels. It reminds me of her. I just wanted to share that with you…"

Edward saw the glassy effect take over in her eyes and looked down at his pretzel, determined to eat it for Bella. If it would make her happy, he'd do it as long as nobody saw him and ragged on him. He bit a small piece off his pretzel and chewed thoughtfully. He looked back over at Bella and saw her watching him carefully.

The pretzel wasn't _that_ bad. He dipped it into his little ranch tub and bit off another small piece and decided it was better with the sauce. He smiled at her, not at all forcing it. He shrugged to tell her it wasn't bad, but it wasn't his first choice. She smiled brightly up at him before she leaned over against his one arm and people watched the various groups around them.

When Edward's pretzel was gone, he reached out to pick up the sauces from his napkin covered dress pants but she snatched one of them away from him. He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow in question when she stuck her finger in the remaining sauce and then handed the tub back over to him. He took it from her and put it in the bag with the other three containers before he crumpled everything up. He looked back over at her to see what she was going to do with the sauce on his finger and almost had a heart attack when she stuck it in her mouth. She sucked it clean before smacking her lips and smiling at him.

Edward cleared his throat before he looked around at the people nearby. "Are you ready to get some shopping done? We've got a couple of pages to get…"

Bella groaned and pulled out the stack of papers as she asked, "How are we supposed to get all this today? There are so many pages! I don't need half the stuff on here anyway…"

"Like what?"

"Like…let's see," Bella mumbled as she scanned through the items, "Like this. Why do I need posters? I don't. I crossed them off because I have absolutely no use for them. I suspect we only have to get one page of things now…"

"Front and back?"

"Just front."

Edward stared at her in awe and surprise. She blushed and quietly revealed, "I don't like shopping to begin with, but I don't need a lot of stuff, either. It's just clutter. I'm not very materialistic. I didn't have a lot of stuff at my uncle's house and I didn't need a lot of stuff…"

"But you just kyboshed most of the list…"

She shrugged at Edward. "I'm not sure what to tell you. If you want we can always window shop, stop into the stores that look interesting I guess…."

"No. I don't like shopping either," Edward confessed. "I usually just let Alice do all the shopping if I need something. She tends to go overboard anyway. All she keeps telling the rest of us is that shopping is her de-stressor, it relaxes her. I think that's a load of crock though. Malls are stressful…" he rambled.

Bella giggled and looked up at him as they stood from the bench. Edward looked down at her in amusement before he threw the trash in a nearby bin and asked, "What?"

Bella's cheeks turned a light pink as she ducked her head shyly before she told him, "You're funny when you ramble." She looked up at him to gage his reaction and saw the tips of his ears turn a pale shade of pink. She giggled again and hit him with her shoulder playfully, "I like it. It makes you human. People can relate to you more… I can relate to you more…" She ducked her head again as her blush deepened.

Edward wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer to his chest as he chuckled. They started walking up to the top floor to start their shopping and work their way down to the parking lot again. It would be easier to leave if they went from top to bottom than the reverse.

The seventh floor was a splash of all different types of stores. Bella didn't know most of the stores on that level because she rarely was able to shop at home with her aunt and uncle.

Edward decided they needed to go into the Bath and Body Works store first. He thought it looked fairly…girly. _And didn't all girls want to smell like chemical flowers?_ He guided her into the store and picked up a nearby basket. He looked over at Bella and smiled at her wide eyed, innocent, little girl look.

She didn't know where to look first. There were so many bright colors in the store. Each of the different bottles had something inviting, eye-catching on the label, begging you to buy that one. She finally looked over at Edward for some guidance and he smiled down at her.

"Why don't we start at one side and make a loop around the store?" Edward asked. Bella nodded, still in awe.

They walked over to the first display but instead of picking something up, Bella looked up at Edward warily. He saw her nervous expression and inquired, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to do?" Bella asked, still unsure. This was the first time in years she had been in a store other than the grocery store. She had been used to buying foods, but here, with all the different lotions and creams and gels, she didn't know what she was supposed to do.

Edward smiled at her, picked up a nearby bottle, opened it, stuck it under her nose and told her, "See which fragrances you like, we'll take it from there…"

Bella quickly pulled back away from the bottle and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She stuck her tongue out as Edward chuckled at her some more. He closed the bottle up and put it back onto the shelf before he guided them over to the next scent.

They continued the process until they made it to one Bella absolutely loved. She pulled back and asked, "What kind is that?"

"Strawberry Patch….do you like it?"

"Yes! It smells just like strawberries!"

Edward put the sample bottle down and started throwing one of each of the Strawberry Patch into the bag, happy she found something she liked.

Bella stood there, staring at Edward, not sure what he was doing. "Um…What are you doing?"

"Getting you one of each. You like it, you're going to get as much as you want…" Edward said simply like it was completely normal to spend that much money in one store.

Bella thought they were going to cash out and leave the store after that, but oh how wrong she was. Edward made her smell each and every scent in the store and if Bella liked it, he picked one of everything up. Bella tried to protest, telling him she didn't need that much and she would never use all of it, but he paid her no mind and continued on his journey.

When they finally cashed everything out at the cash register, Bella almost had a heart attack. Edward had spent $479.29! All in one store! And he acted like it was nothing, just handed his little black card over to the star struck teenybopper cashier and grabbed the bags that had to weigh fifteen pounds, at least. He signed the receipt with a flourish and took the card back before he escorted Bella out of the store and down to another one.

Bella looked up at the store name, "Clarks? What's that?" she asked looking over at a smiling Edward.

"It's a shoe store, honey…"

Needless to say, they walked out of the store with about twenty pairs of new shoes in all different styles- boots, ballet flats, sandals, dress shoes, dress down shoes, high heels, tennis shoes, walking shoes, you name it, Edward bought them for Bella. He even bought a couple of pairs of shoes for himself, including boots, loafers and dress shoes.

Bella wasn't as vexed with the shoes as she was with the other store. The shoes were comfortable and she really needed a few pairs of shoes to get around. All the shoes she tried on that morning were extremely comfortable with the padding and some fur lined, she didn't know shoes could be that comfortable. She couldn't wait for the cooler months because it meant she would be able to wear the nice looking, furry lined boots Edward insisted she get, even though they cost almost two hundred a pair.

Edward wouldn't let Bella feel bad about how much they bought or spent. He reasoned they would buy it sooner or later and if they didn't have to come out here to the mall again, they would both be happy. Edward also made the point that if they let Alice shop for her, then there would not be a store left that wasn't bought out. Bella conceded after that.

They walked through the rest of the seventh floor and then the sixth, but didn't bother to enter any of the other stores. They made their way down to the fifth level and Edward practically dragged her into Sephora and then MAC. Alice and Rosalie loved make up and at some point while Bella was with the family, she would be used as Bella Barbie. Edward had her pick out a few of everything in different colors while he watched. He noticed she leaned towards the blue, green and purple eye shadows, but also picked up a few natural colors and a white and black. She picked up a few different lip sticks as well as a bronzer, blush and brushes.

When they left the two make up stores, Bella leaned in close to tell Edward a secret and whispered, "I sure hope Alice and Rose know what they're doing because I've never used make up before… I wouldn't know what the heck to do with any of it."

Edward busted out laughing at her sincere look. "I'm sure they'll teach you," he joked as he pulled her in close to him and kissed the top of her hair. She looked up at him, surprised, but didn't say anything.

The only other store on the level they needed to go to visit was Victoria's Secret. Talk about embarrassing. The sale's lady flounced over to Bella and Edward and in a grating, bubbly voice greeted, "Hello! Welcome to Victoria's Secret. My name is Brandi with an I; can I help you with anything today?"

Edward cleared his throat and told her nervously, "Um, we need some stuff for her," he motioned to Bella.

Brandi batted her eyelashes at him before looking over at Bella, "Let's see what we can get you today… Are you an eight?"

Bella narrowed her eyes slightly at the girl before telling her, "No, a four."

Brandi rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of Bella's arm, dragging her into the back of the store. When they got into the dressing room, Brandi held out a nasty looking nude bra and told Bella to put it on to see what size Bella 'really is.'

Once Brandi confirmed Bella's correct size, she flounced out of the room telling Bella she would get some things to try on. She came back a few minutes later with three bras, handed them all to Bella, left the room but stayed right near the dressing room. While Bella tried on the first bra, Brandi questioned her, "I love it when friends come into the store together. It's so cute. I mean, embarrassing because they're not together, but still cute. You can tell when the guy is in to you by the way he acts. How long have you known _your friend_?"

Bella bit her lower lip as she tried on the second one, "A few weeks now…"

"Oh, well, I'm just going to go talk to him for a little bit. Do you think he'd go out with me if I asked?"

But before Bella could answer, Brandi was gone. Bella sighed and tried on the third bra, not happy with any of the three. She quickly redressed and went out to the showroom where she saw Edward and Brandi standing off to the side. Brandi was laughing, though it sounded put on, while she touched and pawed at Edward's arms and shoulders, openly flirting. She batted her eye lashes and when she spoke, it was laden with innuendos. Edward was standing there looking extremely uncomfortable as he eased his way further and further away from the girl. She couldn't take a hint though and kept invading his personal space by stepping closer and trying to rub herself all over him.

Amused, Bella walked over to Edward and asked, "What designs do you like? There's so many, I can't decide."

Edward smiled at Bella with relief and looked around at the different bras. He shrugged and left Brandi standing there to help Bella pick some out. Edward pointed to a bright blue one and Bella picked it up. She liked it immediately and checked for her size.

The two of them continued through each style of bra, picking up one of each they liked and added it to the pile that seemed to only grow and grow in their arms. They made their way over to the underwear and did the same.

Edward left Bella to pick up a few pairs of pajamas and brought the items to the cashier. Brandi tried to take the sale over, but Edward was adamant Mila, the other store clerk could help them just fine.

As they stumbled out of the store together, laughing, drowned in bags, Bella exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Did you see her face? It was priceless!"

"I thought she was going to have puppies she was so angry we were together…"

"The look on her face when she realized she had no chance with you…" Bella giggled as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "You could almost see the steam come out her ears like in those old cartoons…"

The last of their giggle fit dried up slowly as they walked around the fifth floor of the mall, window shopping. When they determined they had not seen a store they wanted to visit, they made their way down to the fourth floor. There was just one store they both agreed to stop in, Godiva Chocolatier.

Edward bought a six pack of truffles before they made their way down to the third floor, breaking into the chocolates as they went. He handed one to Bella and popped one in his mouth. He looked down at Bella as he chewed thoughtfully and she took her first nibble of her truffle. He smiled widely the moment she realized what he had done. Her head jerked up and she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

His chuckles filled the elevator as he pulled her in closer to his body. She took a bigger bite of the truffle just before he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Your truffles are so much better."

Bella looked up at him as she popped the rest of the truffle in her mouth and smiled brightly. She chewed and swallowed before she told him, "I like your truffles better too."

"My truffles?" Edward asked curiously.

Bella nodded and told him, "Yeah, the ones we made the other day. I like yours better."

"Why?" Edward asked baffled.

"Because. They're not perfect. Perfection is boring. There's nothing spontaneous or appealing about perfect. You know what you're going to get, where's the surprise there? I like a little bit of excitement. Excitement comes from flaws; imperfections. That's what makes us human. Sometimes people need to realize nobody's perfect and it's ok to let down your hair and just be you."

Edward stared into her eyes for a moment before he asked, "Are you sure you're only seventeen?" She smiled up at him and nodded, breaking the eye contact between them. Edward smiled down at her, which then turned into a smirk when he told her, "You must love Emmett then…"

Bella rolled her eyes and scoffed at him, "He's great. He's just a gigantic kid. I'm all for letting your hair down, but not all the time. There are certain situations you need to act like an adult. I've only seen Emmett that once, the other day in the kitchen so I'm not exactly sure how he normally is…"

"You saw his normal," Edward alleged with a gigantic smile as he picked another truffle up and put it against Bella's lips as the elevator came to a stop.

Bella allowed the truffle to push past her lips as they stared at one another. She bit down on it as the doors dinged then opened. They quickly exited the small car and Edward popped another truffle into his mouth. They finished up a third truffle each as they walked through the third floor, looking at the different stores.

Edward tried everything he knew to drag Bella into the Coach storel, but she stood her ground. She didn't need a three hundred dollar handbag she would never use. She could buy the same damn thing at Target for a fourth of the price they retailed. She really didn't understand it. Why would someone need a bag like that, that costs that much money when in the end it would only tear, come undone and get dirty? Bella felt scared to hold one, let alone buy it and start using it.

They quickly went through the second and first levels, their only stop being Macy's perfume counter. Esme told Edward about a few types of perfume Bella may like. They weren't chemical smelling, but sweet and light and even a bit flirty. The moment Bella made mention she liked them, he made sure to pick up a large bottle of all seven of the Be Delicious perfume types by DKNY.

Bella also found another one she thought smelled good; Ed Hardy's Hearts and Daggers. Edward wasn't about to leave it here, so he picked up a large bottle of that as well before they cashed out. As the cashier ringing up their purchases, while trying to inconspicuously scope out Edward, he pulled his cell phone out and spoke to Banner, telling him to pull the car around to the side of Macy's because they were ready to leave.

When they reached the car, the trunk was overflowing with their purchases. Throughout the morning, Edward had sent their bags down to Banner with a mall employee while Bella continued shopping. Edward had to take a few bags out and put them in the back seat to close the trunk properly. Bella wanted to help, but both Edward and Banner both insisted she sit in the back seat while they figured out the logistics.

They sped their way across town, missing most of the mid afternoon traffic and ate a late lunch at a swanky restaurant. The menu was in code; instead of a burger, it was a filet of bison or cow on an imported bun from France, chopped and steamed greens and bottled sparkling water. _Just tell me it's a darn burger with steamed vegetables and a glass of water, will you?_ Bella thought as she scanned over the pricy menu.

After lunch, to work off the calories they just consumed, Bella and Edward made their way downtown and stopped off at Target to finish up the shopping trip. They still had most of the page to acquire, but at Target, a one stop shop for everything, they would likely find it.

It didn't take much time or energy to find everything, including many new outfits to wear about. With Edward's insistence to leave that store, Bella essentially grabbed whatever her hand landed on, besides the clothes.

They were at the check out in one of the long lines when Bella started going through the list again, crossing off everything they had purchased throughout the day. There was only one thing left, the heating blanket. Target would have them over in the bedding area.

"Edward, we're missing a heating blanket then we're all done."

"Where would one get a heating blanket?" he asked looking up from his phone.

"Bedding," Bella stated as she pointed where that area was, off to their right.

"I'll go get one. You stay right here. I'll be back before you have to pay."

Edward left Bella at the checkout line to go get the blanket. He wasn't gone long when the woman behind her tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "Where did you get those shoes? I've been looking for a good pair of walking shoes for the longest time. I can't find any that are comfortable."

Bella smiled through her discomfort at being singled out of the crowd. She looked down at her shoes before looking up at the lady and telling her, "I got them over at Clarks in the Water Tower Mall this morning. Their shoes are so comfortable. Even to wear all day. I love them."

"I'll have to try them out," the lady reasoned. "So, are you here alone or are you here with someone?"

Bella looked at her, immediately suspicious of why she was asking. This lady, who Bella didn't know from Adam, was trying to delve into another's life. She forced out a smile and said, "I'm here with a friend of mine. It's my first time in the city and he wanted to make sure I didn't get lost."

"How nice!" the lady gushed overly enthusiastic. "How long are you staying in the city then?"

Not trusting this lady in the least, Bella didn't even bat an eyelash when she lied through her teeth, "Two more weeks. You know how vacation time is."

The lady smiled brightly, a little too brightly at Bella and replied, "I know exactly what you mean. And when you go back to work, you need another vacation right away to keep you from tearing your hair out by the roots by the end of the first shift. Leah Clearwater." The lady stuck her hand out for Bella to shake while smiling.

The red flags were waving in her mind as she stuck her hand out and lied to this Leah Clearwater again, "Beverly Johnson. Nice to meet you."

"You as well. You said you're visiting Chicago?"

"Yeah, I'm originally from Miami, Florida," Bella replied with a fake smile, praying Edward would hurry up.

"Oh! You don't look like you would be from Miami. You're so pale."

"I get that all the time. I've lived there all my life and I can't tan for anything. I burn in two minutes flat. My boss likes to do his work on the beach too. It promotes thinking," Bella joked. She was pulling anything and everything she could to turn this woman around. She didn't like how nosy this woman was being and had a feeling it had something to do with who she was with.

"Where do you work? What company?"

"A small publishing company by the name of Frank's Books. It's a great little place. Great for aspiring authors to get their work published. Nothing has gotten really big from there, but it does publish unknown books. What about you?"

Leah shrugged and told Bella, "I'm a native of Chicago and I'm a CEO of an up and coming marketing company."

"How nice, what are your hours? I bet you have to work most of the day…"

"Yeah, I have a 14 day rotation with a 2-2-3 rotating work schedule with 12 hour shifts…" Leah told Bella but trailed off at the end almost like she did not mean to say that.

Bella bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling like the cat that just ate the canary. '_Gotcha'_, Bella thought smiling gently. She gave no indication that she actually understood the significance. If she pulled this off, she would think about getting a job in acting. She was good at this.

"That must be difficult working all that time. Do you have a boyfriend? Significant other? I bet that's hard on them."

Leah tried to play it off by shrugging and waving her hand in the air like it was no big deal, "My boyfriend understands. He's kind of in the same boat I am. He works for another part of the company."

Bella nodded in understanding as she turned towards the front since it was her turn at the cashier. She started setting her things down on the conveyor belt when she suddenly felt someone right behind her. She turned and saw Edward standing there with the heating blanket in his hands. He smiled awkwardly as he set the white and blue zebra print blanket down behind all the other items.

Bella smiled as she put the last thing from the basket up on the belt and leaned in closer to him, "As soon as we get out of here I need to tell you something important."

"Sure."

The cashier was a young lady who looked to be in her early twenties with straightened light brown hair with those god awful white blonde streaks everyone thinks looks cool. She was wearing her mandatory black Dickies and a red polo shirt with her nametag attached to her left boob. She snapped her gum and asked, "Did you find everything you were looking for today?"

"Yes," Bella replied moving forward with the basket, "Thank you."

"Where would you like to go from here? Home hopefully?" Edward asked as he came to stand behind Bella to pay with his credit card as the cashier rang up the items and placed them in bags. Bella would grab each of the bags and put them in the cart quickly so she didn't forget one.

"Let's go back. I'm exhausted and I think I just want to take a nap," Bella chuckled.

"A nap sounds wonderful," Edward joked as they walked out to the parking lot and a waiting Banner. They had to put the bags in the back seat because there was absolutely no room in the car. Edward told Bella to get in and started placing the bags all around her and over her. She didn't mind though. She tilted her head against the window and closed her eyes, thankful the long day was over.

As soon as the bags were all brought up to her room and placed in the corner so she could deal with them later, Bella flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. Edward stood there in the door way and noticed her small, serene smile. Bella looked over at him and waved him in where he flopped down next to her and stared at the ceiling as well. He took a calming breath and relaxed into the bedspread below.

Bella looked over at his peaceful face and smiled. This was the first time she had seen him looking this carefree. She turned over onto her side and watched him until he asked without moving, "Why are you staring at me?"

Bella shrugged, and Edward was lying close enough to feel the motion. He opened his eyes and looked over at her questioningly. She smiled at him and asked, "On your way back with the heating blanket, did you see a lady talking to me in the checkout line?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask what she wanted."

"She wanted information about you."

His brows furrowed at Bella's response. "How do you know?" He asked.

"She started by asking about my shoes, then she started getting into really personal information and I didn't know what to do or say, so I lied to her."

"Why would you do that?"

Bella shrugged, "I didn't trust her. She was too…suspicious…inquisitive, I don't know… There was something about her I didn't like…it's a good thing I lied too."

"Why?"

"She said she was a CEO of a marketing company, but the way she described her work hours and her boyfriend's…they're law enforcement. I don't know if it's FBI, State or county, but I know she's law enforcement. If I had to take a guess, I would say Chicago PD. She said something about her boyfriend being in the same boat, just different part; I would guess he's in a different division or something."

"How do you know that?"

"She said she has a 14 day rotation with a 2-2-3 rotating work schedule with twelve hour shifts. It's actually called a 2-2-3-2-2-3 work schedule, but most law enforcement shorten it. It means she works two days, gets two days off then works three; the following week is the exact opposite with two days off, two days on, three days off. My dad had that schedule. I used to think that was normal when we had to have thanksgiving or Christmas on a different day, or even when he wasn't home every weekend. I remember one time in fifth grade I made a comment about him not being home for Christmas; a girl thought I was joking. Then when I told her I wasn't joking, she thought my family was insane. I guess she didn't know cops have wacky schedules. Same with firefighters…" Bella shrugged and looked back up at Edward's face.

"What did you say to her?"

"I told her I was Beverly Johnson from Miami and I work at an itty bitty publishing company by the name of Frank's Books. I said I was here on vacation for two more weeks with a friend. I can only assume she saw me with you earlier around the store and wanted to see what she could get out of me about you. I didn't tell her anything," Bella implored, begging him with her eyes to believe her.

"I know…" Edward sighed as he rolled onto his side and pulled her into him. She relaxed into his chest, sighing in relief. She snuggled in closer to his chest and breathed deeply. Edward laid his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes. This is what he had been hoping for, physical touch. This is what he saw for all those years, watching each of his family members as they slowly paired off.

Aro and Sculpicia were first, having met when she was visiting Chicago University. He was just barely twenty and she was only sixteen. Edward could remember thinking that his eldest brother was lucky to have found someone to share his life with, someone who he could depend on and who would, in turn, depend on him. Edward liked the idea of having someone like that in his life, a life to share with, even at such an early age.

Carlisle and Esme found each other next when he finished college and started medical school and she was a sophomore in high school at the age of sixteen; they were perfect together. You couldn't imagine a time where it was one without the other. They were always…perfect. Edward, at the ripe old age of eighteen noticed immediately how the two took to one another. They weren't showing off their love and flaunting it in front of the others, yet, they still managed to convey it to one another through small touches or glances. Edward recognized the love in their eyes when they saw one another and he wanted someone to look at him like that. He wanted someone to love him unconditionally, even through his many flaws.

Then there were Emmett and Rosalie. They met the year after Emmett graduated college and Rosalie was a sixteen year old sophomore in high school. They liked to fight and bicker with one another just to make up. He was just a big kid, while she kept him in line most the time. They had a strange relationship, but it worked for them. It wasn't perfect by any means, yet they still loved one another through everything. They held onto each other and that's what Edward admired. He had wondered whether someone actually existed that was perfect for him, in the same way his brothers had found their other halves- someone who completed and complimented him. Despite meeting many girls, and getting to know them well, it seemed to be an impossibility. No one held his interest. Soon enough, he became very good at reading people, learning to judge their sincerity and intentions by their body language and facial expressions alone. It became an instinct he came to rely on, not only to stay alive, but in his mission to find the one diamond in the rough.

Two years after Emmett and Rosalie met, Jasper and Alice found each other- in a coffee shop of all places. He was twenty three while she was sixteen. They were truly amazing together. They could speak to the other without words at all, reading through eye contact alone. Each movement was synchronized, though unintentionally, with Alice bouncing all over the place while Jasper was the only one to calm her down. It was truly remarkable to Edward.

But with Jasper, his last brother, paired up, that left Edward. Unpaired. Unmatched. Alone. He often opted out of family gatherings and dinners because he could not bear watching them interact while he was still alone in the world.

Each of his brothers' better halves was exactly what they needed. They fit to one another so perfectly; it was like they were made from the same mould. As clichéd as it sounded, they were the other half of his brothers' souls and Edward spent years desperately wishing he could find his own other missing half to have and cherish for the rest of his life. He was old fashioned in that respect.

When each of the girls turned eighteen, a large, lavish wedding was held in their honor. Those were the days Edward noticed the loneliness the most. Everybody had wedding fever and paired off into couples. All the girls thought weddings were a wonderful place to find a future husband while most of the guys thought it was a place to find some easy tail. Edward was unfortunately paired off with one of the daughters of a close family friend, Tanya, which he absolutely abhorred.

It was thought by most that once Tanya graduated college in June with an art appreciation degree, they would be married. Everyone thought it was common sense, uniting the two families as one, but Edward wanted nothing to do with her. He was thankful his father brought Bella into the home when he did; otherwise he would have been under pressure to propose and marry Tanya, the prima donna She Devil.

Granted, Edward wasn't a saint himself. He had indulged in the sins of the flesh a few times. He wasn't a man whore by any means, he was rather discriminating about who he took to bed. He made sure to steer clear of the women at his brothers' weddings. It would have been disastrous if the daughter of a family acquaintance became clingy and wouldn't let him go.

Edward closed his eyes, thanking everything he had finally found her. Bella was his other half; he could feel it deep in his bones. She was the one he had been looking for all this time, the one who could help him be a better man. He pulled her closer to him and held on for dear life to make sure she didn't disappear on him.

When the hyper shopaholic danced into the room, she clapped and excitedly asked the motionless pair on the bed, "Did you get everything? I want to see! Come on you two, it's time to put everything away!"

Edward glared over Bella's head at her and quietly told her, "We got everything she needed, and we're trying to take a nap right now, if you don't mind coming back later once we've woken up…" he hinted.

Alice narrowed her eyes playfully at him and asked, "Do you think you can keep me away from her forever? I have news mister hog, you will be dealing with a job this weekend and we're having a girl's night, Rose, Esme, Bella here and me. We're going to get to know her sometime…"

Edward nodded before he curled back up with Bella pressed tightly to his chest. Alice watched them for a brief moment before she backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her gently. She leaned back against the door and smiled brightly. It wouldn't be too long now before Bella and Alice were best friends.

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><p><strong>Thank you for all those who were kind enough to leave some wonderful constructive criticism! It really helps a writer know what their doing wrong and to fix it. We are all human, we make mistakes, but how does one learn from those mistakes if they don't know they made them?<strong>

**Again, leave a comment, but dont just leave a nasty one to be mean. It's not helpful and it's discouraging to all involved.**

**I like some of your theories. They help me know where I need more information and when I can give you just a little and still get you to know what I'm talking about. As for your questions, leave them, I'm making a list of those questions that I will hopefully answer before the ending. Dont ask me when the ending is, I have no clue. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.**

**And last but not least, my beta! Isn't she wonderful? She picks each of the chapters apart and then helps me rebuild. I don't know what I would do without her. I guess I should probably ask if she would allow me to put her name in here so you can send her the love, huh? I'll do that next chapter; which I've already started writing.**


	5. Chapter 5

***A/N: I do not own Twilight, obviously. I am soooooo not rich.***

**I hope you enjoy and I'll see you below:**

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><p>Edward knocked before he entered Bella's room, not waiting for her to call him in. He smiled over at her relaxed posture and wondered how she could read that much and not get bored. Setting the book down on the bed next to her with it bookmarked she sat up against the many pillows on her bed. She smiled at him and greeted him, "Hey."<p>

"Hey," he greeted back as he ventured further into the room. He plopped down on the edge of the bed next to her and smiled.

"What are you up to today?"

He shrugged, not wanting to tell her that he had business to attend to, "Nothing much. I have to go out with my brothers today for a few hours…"

She understood the serious tone immediately. Her smile dropped as she asked, "Do I need to be worried?"

Edward shook his head. He and his brothers dealt with this kind of situation all the time. They were the best in the business. As long as they weren't sloppy, they would be just fine. "We'll be fine. It's nothing too big; we just have to talk to two people, that's all."

She looked at him skeptically as she wondered just how serious it was and why he was brushing it off like it wasn't anything big. "I'll ask again and I want a straight answer," Bella reasoned with him as she scooted closer to him, "Should I be worried? About you?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer to his chest as he mumbled, "You should always be worried about me. But this is something I am good at. This is the one thing the others will never best me at. I'll make sure everything goes ok from now on so I can come home to you. I'll make sure of that." He leaned down to place a kiss on the crown of her head when he got a whiff of strawberries. He leaned in closer, pressing his nose to her hair and inhaled deeply.

Bella looked up at him with a perplexed look, "Did you just sniff me?"

Edward grinned and leaned down to her shoulder and took another big lungful of her strawberry scented skin, "You smell like strawberries!" he crowed excitedly. "You used the stuff we bought!"

Nodding, Bella giggled at his reaction, "Of course. I couldn't let it just go to waste, not after you spent all that money on it…"

"Money means nothing, as long as you're happy."

"I worry about how much you're spending on me. I don't want to worry about something like that. I keep telling you not to, but you don't listen to me…" Bella explained, not mad, yet still irked at his persistent need to spend money on her.

"Bella, love, I could spend a million dollars on you and it would still only be a fraction of my bank account. Please, let me spoil you. You didn't have that most of your life and I want to make up for that. I never want you to want for something ever again. You are my main concern now. Just let me take care of you. I know that's hard because you haven't ever really had someone to look out for you and make sure you had everything you needed, but I'm going to make sure that changes now. Ok? Please don't get upset with me for trying to take care of my wife, please."

Bella huffed and rolled her eyes before flopping back on the bed and groaning, "If I must."

Edward grinned broadly, "You must. You must." Lying back on the bed next to her, he watched her closely, still with a grin on his face. "Alice will be up in a few minutes to drag you down to the kitchen. They want to spend some time with you today. Bonding, or some crap. They think I'm hogging you to myself too much." The scoff that followed implied that he didn't believe a word of it.

Giggling adorably, Bella told him, "I don't think so. But maybe it will give me a little time to get to know your family…?" She glanced over at him and smiled.

"I like that idea. Are you going to be ok with them?"

Bella arched an eyebrow in question, "What do you think? They're your family. I'm sure they won't be _that_ bad." He chuckled and nodded at her as he snuggled up to her body for a few minutes before either one of them was pulled away by family or business.

The knock on the door came sooner than either wanted. They groaned in unison causing them to laugh as Edward granted entry.

Emmett stuck his head into the room and grinned at his younger brother. He was happy Edward finally found someone to bring him out of his brooding, moody shell. He hated that Edward had become lonely and bitter, but it seemed like the minute Bella entered his life, that was all done with. Without realizing it, Edward was becoming happy and outgoing. He was joking around with the others and truly smiling again. Emmett had missed his lighter, carefree brother and it seemed like Bella had been what Edward's life was missing before.

"You ready to go, Eddie?" Emmett joked.

Edward groaned and snarled back in good fun, "My name is Edward, not Eddie. How many times do I have to explain this to you?"

Emmett shrugged, "At least once more. Are you ready? Everybody's waiting down stairs so we can get going."

Edward groaned again and sat up on the bed. He looked over at Emmett and sighed, "All right, I'm coming."

He helped Bella stand and the three of them made their way down to the first floor of the apartment. Edward held onto Bella's hand tightly as they walked into the kitchen, afraid to let her go.

Esme, Rosalie and Alice were all in the kitchen with mixed drinks, already laughing and gathering various ingredients to start cooking. Edward and Bella's arrival called their attention to the doorway. Alice jumped down, danced over to Bella and took hold of her arm. She tried pulling her into the kitchen further, but Bella stood her ground.

Bella looked up at Edward nervously. He sighed, leaned down, kissed her forehead and quietly murmured, "I'll see you in a little while, ok? Everything's going to be all right."

"Just make sure you come back safe," Bella whispered brokenly, "Please?"

"I will. The girls are going to try to keep your mind off of me for the afternoon. I'll come home safe." Bella nodded, but Edward wasn't convinced, "Do you believe me?" He asked looking into her eyes.

"Of course," She replied with a bit more life in her voice. Edward smiled at her again and kissed her forehead one last time before he let her go and turned to Emmett.

The two stoically walked into the mudroom, trying to get their game faces on. This was the only time they were all serious. Usually Emmett was cracking jokes, trying to get people to laugh and smile, but now that he was in business mode he was ready to crack heads.

Edward slipped his suit jacket on and looked at his brothers, asking silently if everybody was ready to go. Emmett grabbed his keys since his hummer was the only car that was able to hold all five of them.

The garage was quiet as they all assembled in the car with Edward, Jasper and Carlisle in the back seat while Emmett was driving and Aro was in the front passenger seat. Emmett was uncharacteristically silent as he started the car and headed for the warehouse, where they had the two men detained.

"How are we going to do this?" Jasper asked around.

"James said they're tied to chairs in two different parts of the building, He's waiting there now for us. He said they tried to run when they were being detained and when that didn't work, they tried to fight back, but were quickly subdued. Apparently they're looking pretty bad."

"Good, it'll be easier to break them," Jasper muttered as he reached down and pulled his gun out of the waistband of his pants.

"We need to find out any and all information they have, and what they have passed on to whomever they're working with," Aro reminded them.

Carlisle was looking out the window as he thought aloud, "That shouldn't be too hard. When we discovered who the rats were, I 'accidentally' let them in on a secret or two. When Ralph was close by, I left some papers out so he could see and pass on the false information, and around Christophe, I was supposedly talking on the phone when he overheard different misinformation. Even if we aren't able to get all the information out of them today, we'll find out sooner or later."

"Where'd you come up with some scheme like that?" Emmett asked peeked in the rear view mirror briefly to look at Carlisle.

Carlisle looked back at Emmett and shrugged, "Dad taught all of us to be diligent in this type of work. You either, get smart and work the game, or you die. I really don't want to die any time soon, so I'm trying to play it smart. I really want to go home tonight."

"Who's taking whom?" Jasper asked all business.

"I want Christophe," Aro said immediately. "He was one of my only friends and he betrayed me. I want to know why."

"I'll go with him," Carlisle said. Aro tended to be a little hot headed when the matter was personal and Carlisle realized he would need someone to talk him down from doing something he would come to regret.

"I guess we'll take Ralph then," Emmett responded as he glanced in the rear view mirror again to look at Jasper and Edward. They both nodded in understanding and continued to get their game heads on.

Half an hour later, the drive came to an end in front of a large, run down warehouse on the docks just outside the city of Gary. The Chicago international airport was nearby, which obstructed some of the sound that would come from the warehouse at times like these, while the boats and birds would mask the rest of them in the water. They exited the vehicle and stretched for a brief moment before the five of them walked into the run down building that smelled like death and bleach.

James, a muscular looking man with blonde hair, pulled back into a ponytail met them near the door and pointed to one room to the left, "there's Ralph and there," he said pointing the other way, "is Christophe. What do you need me to do?"

Aro spoke up as he took off his suit jacket, "We're going to need some lye, some water and some rubber gloves if you have them…"

"Yeah, I'll be right back," He replied as he walked out of the room to get the items.

Carlisle and Aro strolled into the room to the right while Emmett, Jasper and Edward went to the left. They each took their suit jackets off, laid them across the table in the room, unbuttoned their shirt cuffs and rolled them up to their elbows before they looked over at the young man who was tied to a chair with some rope and gagged with what looked to be someone's dirty socks. He looked to be only as old as Edward with hazel eyes and black hair. He had a slimmer build but still had enough muscles for any required heavy lifting. He was wearing a blood splotched white polo shirt and black khakis. The visible skin was bruised and battered and various areas appeared to be swelling. A few of his fingers looked to be broken as they stuck up in different, unnatural directions.

Jasper put his gun down on the table near the suit jackets as Edward put on a pair of black leather gloves and picked up a piece of plywood that had been resting against the wall in the corner. Emmett circled around the man and stopped behind him, out of sight for the moment, but not out of mind.

Edward raised the wooden beam to his shoulder as he leisurely strolled towards the man. He stopped at the side of him and asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Ralph started mumbling through the socks making all of them sigh in frustration. Emmett reached around the man's head and pulled the socks out of his mouth before Edward asked again, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do anything!" he implored, "I've never been anything but loyal to the family! I would never give secrets away, intentional or accidental! You have to believe me!"

"We don't have to believe anything," Jasper snarled at the man. Jasper always took it personal when someone betrayed him or a member of his family, personally or professionally. He always felt that they were trying to insult him personally. His father always told him to just relax, step back and look at things rationally, but it wasn't possible for Jasper to do that when his family and friends were involved.

"But you do! I haven't done anything!" the nearly dead man screeched.

"That's not what your phone records say," Jasper continued, just a cog in their well oiled machine. They all knew they places and they all knew their roles. All Jasper had to do is give the sign and Edward would start his designated role.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"There were numerous calls to a prepaid cell phone that lasted no less than half an hour, each. Care to explain?"

"I was just calling my wife! I swear!"

"I don't believe you," Jasper snarled, "Your wife always calls on the house phone. Your stay at home wife would in no way need a prepaid cell phone. Care to try again?"

"I swear! I didn't do anything wrong!"

Jasper looked over at Edward and nodded imperceptivity once. Edward took the plywood off his shoulder and swung it like a baseball bat as hard as he could and connected it with the man's knees. A shrill scream sounded through the room, echoing ominously off the walls and bouncing back at them.

"Why don't you just cooperate? Then we won't have to deal with your wife as well…" Jasper sighed in exasperation and frustration.

The man blinked through his swollen eyes at Jasper, "You wouldn't! You don't go after women! Boss always said women were off limits!"

"Not when dealing with a rat, Ralph. All is fair when we're flushing out the system."

"But- but-"

"No buts. If you tell us who you were working with, we won't have to deal with her, we can leave her alone."

All was silent for a long moment before Jasper nodded at Edward again. Edward swung the plywood, smashing the man's knee caps as he brought it down. The echoing scream didn't bother any of the brothers; they were used to it by now.

"Who were you working for?"

"The cops!" Ralph screamed in pain. "A Detective! They said they had something on me and if I helped them, they could possibly drop the charges. I did it for my family! You have to believe me! If I go away, who would feed my kids?"

"You should have thought about that before you betrayed us. We could have gotten you out of the mess with a simple call to our lawyer, but you decided to take this matter on yourself. Because of that, your family won't be bringing in any money to survive now," Jasper explained. "What information did you leak to the cops?"

"I didn't really tell him anything, just some information on the next shipment of guns. I only told them when and where, which I saw from papers Carlisle had. I promise, I didn't tell him anything else! He was going to lock me up! I had to save my family!"

"Like I said, you should have thought of that before you betrayed the family," Jasper reiterated as he picked up his gun from the table, shooting the man right between the eyes.

Ralph's brain matter flew from the exit wound in the back of his head along with pieces of skull. The man dropped instantly; dead. Emmett had been standing slightly off to the side, behind Ralph, but his shirt was still covered with the splatter.

He stepped away and made a disgusted face as he looked down at his now ruined shirt, "Argh! Do you have to be so messy?"

They heard another gunshot sound from across the warehouse. Edward dropped the plywood and walked into the other room to Carlisle and Aro, "We got the stuff we need?"

"Yeah," Aro pointed to the things he'd asked James for and nodded before walking back into the other room.

"Grab him, they're ready in the other room."

"Why do we have to grab him?" Emmett whined.

"Because you're already a mess and Jasper's the one who made it that way."

Grumbling, they grabbed the body and walked him into the other room. They waited as Carlisle and Aro none-too-gently moved Christophe's dead body into the porcelain tub, which was tucked away in the corner, before Jasper and Emmett flung Ralph's body atop it.

Aro pulled on the rubber gloves and started dumping copious amounts of lye on the bodies in the tub. When the bag was gone, he lifted the large bucket of water up and started pouring it all over the lye. They watched as the lye started immediately eating away at the two body's flesh.

Soon it was just bones and a fleshy, human soup mix. Aro poured the other two bags of lye over the bodies and stood back to watch as they lye ate away at the bones, leaving nothing behind but a disgusting sludge.

"Where you going now? Home?" Emmett asked James.

James nodded, "Yeah, I haven't gotten anything else to do today…"

"Go get cleaned up then stop by. You shouldn't be alone all the time. It makes you all broody. Besides, you need to meet Edward's Baby Bell. He's not so uptight when she's around," Emmett joked playfully as he looked over at Edward to gauge his reaction. He would often invite James over to make sure he wasn't always alone.

"So, you're finally settling down, huh?" James asked as he looked over at Edward. James was more of a no-nonsense guy who didn't joke around and rarely smiled. The death of his wife had taken a toll on him over the years. She was the light of his life and the light was extinguished one ordinary night, when they had come from the theater and were attacked. He survived by the skin of his teeth with a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest while she died instantly from a gunshot to her heart. He was in his early thirties, but looked slightly older due to the stress and pain he'd endured through his life. Everything took its toll on him. Even though he was older than Emmett by a few years, Emmett considered James a friend.

Not quite sure what he wanted others to know just yet, Edward simply shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Everybody seems to like her so far. She even got Banner to acknowledge her the first time they met."

"No!" James replied, clearly impressed, "Does she have some voodoo or something?"

"I don't know, but I really hope she has some voodoo with my mother. They haven't met yet and mother has been…nasty about her since she arrived."

"That's going to end in disaster," James conceded as he grabbed his suit jacket.

"Come on; let's get out of here…" Jasper called as he grabbed the three suit jackets from the other room. He threw Emmett and Edward's at them as they walked out to their different cars.

Edward slipped on his favorite suit jacket and looked down to straighten the wrinkles and saw it, along with his white dress shirt was now covered in blood. "Son of a - JASPER!" he bellowed. "You're going to pay for that!"

Jasper darted away and into the back of the hummer on the opposite side as Emmett shook his head and looked over at James.

"Two hours?" Emmett called over to James.

"Give me another hour and I'll be over."

"Bring over a change of clothes; lord knows we have enough spare bedrooms."

"Sounds good," he said as he slipped into his car before speeding off down the deserted, darkening road. Emmett jumped into the driver's seat again and started the car. He looked back to make sure everybody was in the car before he took off after James' car to get back home.

Meanwhile, across town in their fortified, high rise, multilevel apartment, Rosalie hopped up onto the kitchen counter next to where Esme was trying to perfect her chicken wings glaze. The kitchen counters held a range of casual finger foods. Tonight was a night to just let their hair down and be themselves, healthy eating be damned! The girls had decided that a junk-food night would be a great way to make Bella feel welcome. To feel like she was one of them. A splurge before she, too, was sucked into their rigid existence as demanded by Elizabeth.

The homemade guacamole and salsa were in one of the several refrigerators, firming up nicely as the counters on the far side of the room were dotted with crock pots containing Velveeta salsa dip, Cheesy potatoes, and chili and cheese dip. Scattered around the other counter tops were various ingredients to the other dishes that would be consumed that day. It looked like a Super bowl Sunday party exploded in their kitchen with all the junk food and snacks.

Rosalie swiped her finger through the glaze and tasted it. Esme looked at her with a raised brow and asked, "Ok?"

"Great, just like it always is," Rosalie replied as she took a gulp of her mixed drink. "I don't understand how you and Bella do it. I can't cook to save my life. And don't get me started on remembering all the recipes off the top of my head."

"It's all about knowing what each of the flavors taste like and experimenting how it would combine with others. A lot of it is trial and error," Esme explained taking a sip of her own mixed drink.

"And doing it over and over again," Bella added in from her position hovering over a crock pot, stirring. "I only remember things because of all the repetition I've had through the years. Plus, if I got the recipes wrong and it didn't taste good, it would lead to punishment. I learned pretty quickly what worked and what didn't."

"So, what actually happened to you?" Rosalie asked bluntly.

Bella stopped what she was doing and just started down at the food as her body tensed. Esme came to her rescue though, "Rose, you know that's not fair. You just expect her to lay everything out to ease your curiosity? How about you? You would have a conniption if someone just came out and asked what happened to you. She doesn't know you like the rest of us do. She doesn't understand how straight forward you are. Don't just come out and ask like that." Rose held her hands up in surrender as she watched Bella and sipped at her drink.

Alice danced back in carrying a small bag and set it on the counter before she hopped up next to Rose and grabbed her nearby drink. "What's that?" Esme asked as she eyed the bag suspiciously.

"It's a makeup bag. I thought we could liven Bella up a little…"

Bella looked over at Alice and shook her head, "No. No. No. No. No one is putting any make up on me today. It's one thing to do that when I have to go out somewhere, but we're not going anywhere today."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun! You never know who's going to show up. You always have to look your best." Bella felt the panic and ire rising in her body and tried to breathe through her nose to calm herself. "Didn't you ever dress up just to feel pretty? With a little bit of work you could be gorgeous," Alice pressed, used to getting her way when she pushed and pushed. Bella could feel her entire body tensing way past the point of pain. She could feel her body was getting ready to lash out and she really didn't want to do that today. Esme, always the peace maker, tried to discourage Alice, but she didn't listen, brushing it off like she knew what was best. "It'll be fun. You'll see. You just need to get comfortable in your own skin. I hope the clothes you just bought were a little on the revealing side, I bet you have a gorgeous figure. You just need to come out of your shell…Oh! We should have you put on a fashion show with the clothes you just bought!" She exclaimed as she bounced in her seat, clapping.

That was the last straw for Bella. She threw the spoon down she had been gripping tightly in her hand and spun around, glaring at Alice. Alice stopped what she was doing, alarmed at Bella's reaction. If it were a cartoon, steam would have been coming from Bella's ears by then as she gritted out, "Are you always this pushy? I said no. Give it a rest already. No matter how much you push, I won't give in. I've given in too much in my life and I'm not about to let someone else do it to me too. My entire life everybody's been telling me what to do and how to do it. I will not let you do that as well. Nor will I let you guilt trip me into doing anything so don't even start with the damn puppy dog eyes."

Alice's eyes widened in shock. _How did she know about the puppy dog eyes?_ She opened her mouth to ask but Bella cut her off.

"Edward told me all about what you would do to con someone into doing something you want. I won't fall for it. You have no idea how you come off to others do you? You're pushy and when you don't get what you want, you try to guilt trip them. My grandmother used to do that to me before she died. You want us to be friends, yet you want to control me and everything else around you. I can't be friends with a manipulative control freak. Sorry, but no. I already had one of those in my life; I don't need another, thank you very much."

"But-… I didn't mean-"

"No, you didn't, but that's how you come off to others."

"I didn't mean to be like that…"

"Do you know how much everything you just said hurt? I don't care if anyone shows up and sees me, because this is who I am. I am a sweat pants and baggy t-shirt girl. That will never change no matter how much you push. And for your information, I never did dress up because I only had ten outfits when I lived with my aunt and uncle and those I wore until they were so holey they weren't covering much anymore. I didn't have the time, inclination or supplies to dress pretty. Dressing up is not fun for me, nor is putting make up on or fixing my hair. You don't like it? Tough shit. This is me. You get what you see. I will never feel comfortable showing much skin because of the scars covering my body and thankfully, I don't have to. It is my choice what I wear, not yours. My shell is what protected me the past four years."

The tears welled in Alice's eyes as she absorbed what she heard, "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

Bella sighed in frustration and resignation, "If I want help with make up or hair or whatever, I'll come to you, but please, try not to push me on anything. The harder you push, the harder I'll resist. I refuse to go back to that environment."

"Sorry," Alice whispered sincerely.

"Just be more aware of how you come across. Not everybody will tolerate it."

"Ok," she said timidly, looking quite abashed.

Nobody had ever stood up against Alice's pushing. Rosalie always just shrugged her off, while Esme indulged her every now and again. Elizabeth and Sculpicia were too uppity to allow Alice to have her fun. This was an eye opener to Alice. She hadn't known how pushy she was being until now, when this new person, with no one to influence her opinion, confronted her about it and told her the entire truth.

Rose hopped down from the counter and pulled down a tumbler before she looked over at Bella and asked, "What do you want to drink?"

Bella looked at her for a second, "Um, maybe some pineapple juice? I haven't had that in a while…"

"No, Sugar, you want a martini? Piña Colada? Rum and coke?"

Bella shook her head, looking scandalized, "I'm only seventeen."

"So? Who's going to tell?"

"No thanks. I know what happens when you start depending on that. I'd rather not even tempt myself. Pineapple juice will do just fine. Thank you, though," Bella answered.

"Suit yourself," Rosalie shrugged and poured her a glass of pineapple juice. She handed it over and topped her own margarita off before hopping up back up on the counter. "So, is the food almost done? I'm starving. I wanna' get this party started!"

"Yeah, everything's ready to eat… I don't know how you want to do this…" Bella said as she looked around at the variety of different foods. "Do we want to do it buffet style or do we want to bring it all to the table?"

"Why don't we just set everything up at the breakfast nook and have like a finger food free-for-all?" Esme suggested.

"Ooooo! I like that idea!" Alice exclaimed, starting to get her enthusiasm back.

They bussed all the dishes over to the breakfast nook and each refilled their drinks before they took a seat and started eating. The conversation flowed fluidly and soon there was laughter coming from each of them as they shared stories with the others of their younger years and how much trouble the boys and themselves got into trouble. Some of the antics on both sides were hilarious. Bella instantly thought of her uncle on her father's side, who had been just like Emmett all his life, a man-child. Instead of feeling upset at remembering the good times, it helped her with closure. It seemed like the more she thought about her family that she lost, the easier it was to remember the good times; the happy times. That's what she wanted to hold onto.

But no matter how much she thought or spoke about her Aunt Sue and Uncle Phil, they would always be horrible people, blood or not. She hated them with a passion for putting her through what they did and she wasn't going to forgive them anytime soon.

The loud laughter from the breakfast nook area floated throughout the bottom floor of their apartment, bouncing off the many bay windows and echoing back as the men trudged into the mudroom. They all made to take off their suit jackets, when Bella, hearing the noise, stepped into the doorway to investigate, and spotted them. She noticed the red smearing, which was now all over their previously pristine white dress shirts, only being covered by their dark suits.

Edward saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to find a shell shocked Bella standing in the door staring at all the blood. He stopped moving and watched her. With each second that seemed to tick by, the fear seeped further into him. _Would this be the final straw, which made her run, screaming for the hills?_ She turned abruptly and charged out of the room.

Edward sighed and took off his suit jacket, throwing it on the floor in the middle of the room and then untucked his now ruined shirt from his pants to do the same thing. The other men in the room followed suit with their clothes as well. Edward was unbuttoning his shirt when Bella came rushing back carrying a large black garbage bag. She held it open and instructed them to put everything into it whether it had blood or not.

The men followed her directions, picking everything up off the floor and placing it in the black trash bag. They were down to their boxers when Bella told them, "Socks and shoes in here too."

They looked at one another skeptically before Edward put his socks and shoes in the bag first. The others then followed his example. She lay the bag down on the floor and pulled out a couple towels from the rag area and handed one to each before telling them, "Everything needs to come off and into the bag." She turned around to give them some privacy.

They all grumbled as they each wrapped the old towels around their waist, more careful with a woman in their midst, and removed their underwear, placing it in the bag as well. This was different from their usual routine when coming back from a job like this, where they would usually just send the clothes out with a trusted employee to a dry cleaner's just down the block, one that was very discrete and very thorough.

Bella turned around after a while and nodded, "Get up there and take showers. There should be some bleach under your bathroom sinks. I don't care if you don't see any blood on you, I want you to shower and then pour the entire bottle of bleach down the drain."

Bella shooed them out the door to carry out her instructions and quickly gathered the trash bag. She hauled it into the family room and over to the fire place where she dropped it on the stone barrier and rushed off to get some lighter fluid and bleach. She returned, tossed the clothes into the fireplace, drenched them all with the flammable liquid and struck a match. Standing back a foot or two, Bella flung the match on the clothes, which ignited and burned rapidly.

She stood there and watched as everything disintegrated to ash except the metal bearings on the clothes like the zippers and metal shoe-lace holes. She poked and prodded the pile of ash to make sure there was nothing left before heading into the floor's laundry room to find a pair of heavy duty gloves, a sponge, a face mask for the fumes and a bottle of bleach. Bella lugged the items into the mudroom and pulled on the gloves. She poured some of the bleach onto the middle of the floor where the bloody clothes had been and got down on her knees to start scrubbing.

Edward made his way back to the first floor wearing lounge clothes and, curious, stuck his head into the mudroom, finding Bella furiously scrubbing the floor. He rushed to try to help, but she waved him away as she brushed the hair away from her sweaty forehead.

"What you guys need to do now is go up and put on a suit that looks just like the ones you took off. Make sure you sweat a little in them before taking them off. If that means you need to get on the treadmill for a while, do it."

Edward watched her, trying to figure out why he needed to go get a suit sweaty, but finally he relented and just asked, "Why?"

Bella looked up at him and replied, "If, God forbid, the police show up tomorrow and ask for the clothes you all wore tonight, you guys can hand them suits that look like the ones they could see on the tape of you guys coming into the apartment building. Those suits will have your DNA on them while not having any blood on it, yet still look like the right one."

"I'll go tell the others," Edward agreed as he turned to leave.

"Edward!" Bella called, hoping to catch him before he was too far away.

He stuck his head back in the room and looked at her expectantly. She smiled at him and asked, "Do you think you can go get that puzzle we bought yesterday?" His brows furrowed in confusion but he just decided not to ask any more questions. She had a reason for everything she did, it seemed. He nodded and ducked back out of the room to do as he was told.

She finished up scouring every surface in the room with the bleach before she moved onto the household cleaner. She turned on the industrial fan in the room to keep the fumes from settling and started in the middle of the room and worked her way out.

As Bella was standing up, having just finished the second scouring with the household cleaning products, Edward returned, wearing another one of his expensive suits that looked very much like the one she had just burned. He held out the puzzle box she had asked for and stood there, watching, waiting for answers on why she wanted a puzzle of all things.

Bella removed her gloves and took the offered box, digging through the 750 puzzle pieces to find a small tube looking thing. She closed the box, discarding it on the floor in the other room, and turned off the lights in the mudroom. A click of a button on the little tube caused the small flashlight to illuminate the floor where the clothes had been with an eerie bluish purple glow.

The bluish purple light illuminated the areas Bella shone it as she methodically went in lines around the room, working from the outside in, before it fell on a dark spot on the floor. Bella retrieved her glove and scrubbed at the dark spot until there was nothing left. She continued until every surface of the room was spotless.

The sponge met the same fate as the clothes; a pile of ash in the fireplace. She gathered the ashes into a Ziploc bag and poured some bleach into the ashes just to make sure everything was taken care of. She would need someone to deal with the bag later so the evidence wouldn't be in their possession if the police were to come. Bella quickly put everything away in the laundry room and came back out to the family room where she left Edward waiting with a very perplexed expression.

"What's bothering you?" She asked him gently.

"What was all that with the light and everything?"

She smiled as she sat down on the couch, patting the spot next to her. He accepted her offer and sat next to her before she started to explain, "I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be anything left for the police to find. Bleach and other cleaning products destroy the enzymes in human blood. Plus, the scented household cleaning products make it seem like it was just a regular cleaning if the cops come. The light was an, ultra violet light. It illuminates even the faintest traces of blood, which the police could sample and analyze. If I hadn't used it, I would have missed the drop, and that one drop could have been enough evidence to convict one of you."

"Why on earth was it in a puzzle?"

Bella laughed loudly. "It's the new thing for CSI. You put the puzzle together and once you're able to see the picture, you use the UV light to pick up little clues to help you solve the mystery crime that's being portrayed in the puzzle."

"I don't know whether to be scared of you, or proud…" Edward confessed.

Bella laughed again as she shook her head, "Never be scared of me. I will only try to help you."

"The same goes for me, too. You never have to be scared of me. I will never intentionally hurt you."

"I know," Bella whispered as they looked into one another's eyes for a long moment.

"Why would they put something like that in a children's toy? Shouldn't they have thought of that before they gave just anyone the tools to be able to detect blood?" Edward mused, bewildered that that kind of tool, used to help cover up a crime, would be so easily accessible.

Bella snickered, "Well, their loss, our gain. It probably would have worked better if we had the professional version, but I did what I could with the little I had."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Edward asked, clearly enamored with her and her mind.

Bella smiled shyly up at him as she bit her lower lip slightly and shrugged, "I told you my dad, Charlie was a police officer, right?" Edward nodded silently, encouraging her to continue. "Well, I saw how much he enjoyed putting all those bad guys away and I knew at a very early age I wanted to have a meaningful career, something that I really liked to do…" she shrugged again. "I knew I wouldn't have cut it as a cop, but the world of crime scene investigation was right up that alley and it was interesting, it was something I was good at too. It was either CSI or an author, because I love to read."

Carlisle approached them on the couch and smiled at the couple before he leaned in and whispered something to Edward. Edward listened for a moment and nodded as he stood up. He looked over at Bella and smiled apologetically and asked, "Would you excuse me for a moment? Father wants to talk to me briefly. I'll be right back."

"Yeah," Bella waved him off like it was nothing, "Go do business. I'll be in the kitchen with the other girls when you get back."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?"

She looked at him like he was dense and spoke to him like she was talking to a child, "Edward. I have been with them the entire day. A few more minutes won't hurt me. Go. I'll be fine," she told him exasperated.

He smiled his crooked grin at her before jumping up and walking with Carlisle to the elevator to get to the seventh floor.

When the door shut on the two men, Carlisle glanced over at Edward, his eyes showing understanding. "You really like her, don't you? It's not just because she's here and you were forced to marry her, is it?"

Edward looked his older brother in his eye as he smiled serenely and explained, "I really like her. I think she could be my Esme, or Alice, or Rose. She…I don't know how to put it into words…"

Carlisle chuckled as he slapped Edward's shoulder. "You've got it bad. Just be thankful you only have to wait a few months. Your brothers and I had to wait two years before we could do anything."

"Yeah, why on earth did you all go after sixteen year olds?"

Carlisle laughed boisterously, "Coincidence. Your heart knows what it wants. It just takes your mind and body a little time to catch up to your head. We found our other halves when they were sixteen, you took a little longer, but you found yours. Do you know how many people go through life without finding theirs?"

The elevator doors dinged open at the seventh floor and they stepped out, rounded the corner and made their way to their father's office. They knocked politely before being called in.

Edward Senior looked up at his sons and motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk for them to occupy. They did so without a second thought once the door was closed behind them. Everyone did what Edward Senior told them to do; or they felt his mighty wrath. And nobody who experienced his wrath ever lived to tell the tale.

The elder Edward finished reading the paper on his desk before looking up at his sons again. He analyzed each of them before he asked, "What happened today?"

"They fought back when they were apprehended…" Edward explained.

"You cleaned out the problem?"

"Both of them," Edward nodded, "The warehouse will have to be cleaned and the remnants of the bodies will need to be disposed of sometime soon, but there's no more trace of them, except for the human stew. The holes have been fixed."

"Did you find out who they were working for?" Edward Senior asked critically. He didn't want a rat to leak any information to either his rivals or the cops. He needed to keep his family and organization safe. The threat of rats were real, as they had seen earlier; they happened, but he was lucky enough to have very few. Maybe it was the fact they were dealt with quickly, quietly and efficiently when he did.

"Ralph was working with the police and Christophe with the Volturi. Carlisle gave them false information a few days ago, allowing them time to pass that information off to whomever they were working for, before they were dealt with. They won't be spilling anymore secrets."

"Christophe didn't pass much on, but it was enough to know we needed to deal with him. The information was false this time, but next time it wouldn't have been."

"Same with Ralph," Edward conceded.

"Good. Have the clothes been dealt with yet? We need to if they haven't been."

"Bella took care of everything tonight. She took charge and burned all the clothes in the fireplace. She also took it upon herself to scrub the entire mudroom with bleach and other products before improvising a UV light. She found another spot of blood she missed with the light and got it before burning the sponge too."

Edward Senior sat there looking at his youngest; surprised the newest young woman in the family had taken such initiative to keep the family safe from investigation. "How did she improvise a UV light?" he wondered aloud.

Edward grinned proudly and repeated Bella's explanation to his father. "She used that tiny, flimsy thing. Do you think there is any way we could get her a real one?"

"I'll look into it," Edward Senior nodded. "What else has been going on with the new addition?"

Edward shrugged and replied, "She's great. Everybody seems to like her so far… She got Banner to talk to her, which is unheard of. He still doesn't really talk to the rest of us and we grew up around him. And she already has Sarah in the palm of her hand. She's a great cook… and she can also spot a cop a mile away…"

Edward Senior's eyebrow raised in curiosity, asking the question his mouth would not. Edward sighed and fidgeted slightly in his chair and explained, "We were at Target yesterday and I left her to quickly go get one last thing on the list. When I came back, no more than five minutes later, I saw the girl that had been standing behind us in line. Bella filled me in once we were home. Something the girl said about her work schedule clued Bella into the fact that she was actually a cop, and not the CEO she claimed she was. Bella's father was a cop…" Edward trailed off.

"Once we're done here, I'd like to speak with Bella for a moment," Senior told Edward. Edward nodded nervously as he swallowed thickly in fear for Bella. "How do you perceive her?" Senior addressed Carlisle.

Carlisle nodded confidently, "She's shy and sweet. There's a child's innocence about her, but at the same time there's also a fire in her if you rub her the wrong way. She's been hurt terribly and I think Edward here is slowly bringing her out of her shell each day. She still flinches when there's a loud noise or someone raises their voice or when something moves too quickly, but before long I predict she will be a confident, strong young woman who will be able to stand with the best of us. The fact she can spot a cop only means she might be able to help us. I don't think she's a threat to accidentally saying something to the wrong person. I like her. I think she's bringing out the human side in everybody who meets her. It's the one thing this place has been missing, the human aspect of it all."

"How do you think the others feel about her?"

"Again, I think she brings out the good qualities in everybody. She brings a smile to everyone's faces. When we walked in tonight, she took charge and made sure everything was taken care of without being asked and she did it thoroughly. The girls seem to love her. They were in the kitchen all day bonding over junk food."

They spoke for the next hour and a half about the 'business' and then their individual businesses they were gifted when they turned eighteen. They spoke about profits and employees and the economy before Edward Senior closed out the meeting by looking at Junior. He had hard eyes when he asked him to bring Bella up to the office so he could have a word.

Edward nervously rode down in the elevator to the first floor of the apartment and strode into the kitchen to get Bella, where he found her standing at the stove stirring what looked to be an Alfredo sauce. She looked up at him and smiled when she saw him. He tried to force a smile at her, but he was afraid it came out more like a grimace.

Sensing something was wrong, she immediately stepped away from the stove and over to him, "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, per say, but my father would like to speak with you in his office…"

"Did I do something wrong?" Bella asked, tears forming in her eyes. She hadn't had to speak with Edward Senior before and with the way Edward was acting, she felt it would not go well. _What had she done wrong?_ She internally begged for the unknown answer.

Edward took her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly before asking one of the other women to watch the sauce. Esme nodded in understanding, telling him without words everything would be all right.

On the elevator ride up to the seventh floor, Bella clung to Edward's hand. She had never been up this high before, even though there were rooms on each floor that the entire family could use. She had never had the need to come up here, nor had she been invited. She always felt like she was snooping if she went any higher than the fourth floor; the floor that held her bedroom as well as Edward's.

As they stepped off the elevator, she looked up at Edward, trying to gather some semblance of…something. They stopped in front of a large, foreboding mahogany wood door and she just stared up at it. This was where she was going to die. This was it.

Edward sighed in resignation and knocked before going in when called. He stepped in after Bella, but when Edward Senior looked up at the two of them, he told Edward, "I wish to speak with Bella alone for a few moments."

Bella squeezed the hell out of Edward's hand. All he could do is squeeze it back, silently trying to tell her it would be ok, before he pried his hand out of Bella's and walked back out the door, shutting it behind him as he went.

He paced back and forth in tight lines outside the door before he gave up trying to pace a hole in the carpet and leaned back against the wall near the door. _Too bad the door and the office are soundproof. He would kill to know what they were talking about right this second._

Inside the door, Bella wasn't faring much better. She felt like the room was closing in and she was about to be suffocated. Sensing her unease, Senior motioned to one of the chairs before his desk, asking her to sit down without speaking. She quickly scrambled over to the chair and sat down. She did not want to make this man mad. She knew what he was capable of.

He sat behind his desk and stared at her for a long time, watching as she got more and more agitated, causing her to fidget more and more. Finally, he took pity on the girl and broke the silence, "Two years ago," he started, causing her to jump severely, "When your uncle contacted me for a loan, I ran a background check on him."

That caught Bella's attention. She looked up at him, cautiously curious, waiting for the punch line. _Why was he telling her this? What was he trying to get at?_ She nodded for him to continue, though still cautious.

"Finding that he was living with both your aunt and you, I had a background check done on all three of you. I do my homework when I do business with people. I like to know everything and anything about them before I make a commitment. I didn't only get your backgrounds; I got your medical and financial files as well. I've read through them…" he revealed as he watched her for any kind of reaction. All he saw on her face was resignation.

"I want you to know, I know what your aunt and uncle put you through over the years and that it never should have happened." She sat there stoically, not sure how to react or if she had the energy _to_ react. "When I saw the numerous visits you had in the emergency room over the years, I decided to make you part of the deal if he couldn't pay up.

"Nobody knows this and I would prefer it stay that way," he indicated harshly. Bella nodded at him, indication that she agreed to his request for discretion, and he continued, "but my mother was abused by someone she thought she could trust. She was left for dead in the streets and that's how my father found her. The doctors told her she would never be able to have children, yet a little over seven years later, I was born. I do not allow women to be abused in this organization and I cannot just stand back and watch as it happens."

"Sir?" Bella asked timidly.

"Yes?" he asked her, willing to let her ask her questions.

"Um, why did you loan Phil the money if you knew what he was like? He was so far in debt, you had to know he wasn't going to pay it back… right?" she whispered, terrified to upset him.

Edward Senior scratched his jaw, "I knew the likelihood of him paying the debt back was slim to none, but I also knew he was skimming money from the bank he was managing. He was skimming nearly a hundred thousand dollars a month and the bank was close to finding the culprit. He would have been arrested and left you with your aunt. I figured if I got my money back, that would be great, but even if I didn't and I still got you out of that environment, that would be a fair trade off."

Bella sat back in the chair, bewildered. _This man, this mobster, had made a deal, knowing there was a good chance he would not get his money back, just to save her from having to go through two more years of hell on earth._ In that moment, Bella knew he wasn't always the stiff, unrelenting man that portrayed to others. There was a softer side to this man, deep, deep, deep, deep down in there, buried by the mask he was forced to wear. The edge of her lips twitched up a few times before she got it under control. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it. Now, as I was going through your files, I noticed you have a lot of inheritance coming to you on your eighteenth birthday. You obviously do not need that money as long as you're with us, however, in case something happens and we are not able to care for you for some reason, I am going to move the money to an off shore account in Switzerland after liquidating everything."

"Sir, there is a house, the house my parents had while I was growing up, do you think you can save that? I know the chances of getting back there are slim to none, but I would feel better knowing that is still in my name just in case I would like to visit…"

He nodded in understanding, "I'll see what I can do. Everything else will be liquidated and moved. Once the account is set up and the money deposited, you will immediately start earning interest and by the time you turn eighteen, you'll have a nice nest egg. It is unlikely we won't be here to take care of you, but if that ever happens, you will never have to work a day in your life. Once I have the account details, I will get you a copy of it so you have records of the account information as well; you will be able to access it if you should ever need to."

"Thank you," Bella whispered again.

"Can I ask you a couple of questions now?" Edward Senior asked, looking at Bella intently.

She fidgeted and nodded, "Uh, sure…"

"How did you know that woman was a cop?"

"She told me her work schedule was a 2-2-3 and my father had that when he was on the job. The way she looked after she said it, too, it was like she didn't mean to let it slip out. She was hoping I didn't catch the reference."

Edward Senior nodded, "What did you tell her?"

"Well, she came up behind me in the line and started talking to me about the shoes I was wearing, but she got real personal real quick and I've never been very…open or trusting with strangers. I told her my name was Beverly Johnson and I live in Miami, but I was only visiting a friend here for two more weeks. I work for a small publishing company called Frank's Books, for all she knows."

"Why did you lie to her? That would have been a perfect opportunity for you to try and escape, especially since Edward left you alone there…"

Bella shrugged, not really knowing the answer as she played with her fingers, "I have no clue. I guess I figured I'd be…I don't know…betraying my family or something. This is the first family I've had in years and I guess I'm too selfish to just give it all up because you guys might be doing something illegal. I want to be a part of a family again… and I guess I just don't trust the police anymore…"

"I saw the phone calls…"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, I would call every single week, begging and pleading for someone to come and investigate the violence that was occurring in the house, but the men I talked to at the stations all believed Phil when he told them that I was a whiney little teenager who had just lost all her family and was looking for attention, or that being in that plane crash had messed with my equilibrium somehow, or even that it was self harm so I could somehow get back at Phil and Sue. They would leave without taking a report, refusing to even look at the bruises and marks. They didn't help me when I needed it desperately, why should I help take down the people who actually managed to get me out of there and have been nothing but wonderful to me since I got here?"

"How do you feel being married to my son?"

Bella smiled serenely, "He's good to me. He's gentle and caring, he doesn't push me to do things I don't want to do. He never makes me feel uncomfortable and he doesn't hurt me."

He nodded again, "Good. I'd like to think his mother and I raised him right, but you never know." He cracked a smile reminiscent of his youngest son and Bella couldn't help the smile that tugged on her lips that followed. "Carlisle brought to my attention that you still have a few…quirks you need to work through."

"May I ask what they are?" Bella nervously inquired.

"He noticed when there are loud sounds or sudden movements, you tend to flinch away. It's a pretty normal response due to what you endured. My mother struggled with it for many years after her incident. This is a little personal, and you can refuse to answer by all means, but did he leave any scars when he beat you?" Bella nodded wordlessly, too shocked and scared to speak up. _How did he know?_

He sighed in dejection and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, if you decide to move forward with the relationship between you and Edward, just know that you're probably going to have a few setbacks along the road. Don't give up. Witnessing someone you love going through flashbacks and reliving the abuse is tough," he shook his head and looked up at Bella, "If it's bad for those observing, I can only imagine the pain of experiencing it. Talk to Edward. Explain the things you can right now, keep him in the loop. He'll be patient with you and take it slowly, but he needs to know what's going on."

"Yes sir," she whispered gently. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your mother…"

He nodded, trying to keep the emotions in check he felt whenever he thought about his deceased mother. "She would have liked you. You remind me so much of her…. Now, I think we should let him back in, he's probably pulling his hair out, out there." Bella giggled at the image it conjured as they both stood and walked to the door.

Edward jumped up from the floor when he heard the office door open and looked at the pair with crazy, worry filled eyes. He only managed to relax when he saw Bella's calm smile on her lips. Sighing in relief, he rushed over and wrapped her in his arms, pressing his nose to her hair to breathe her in. He just needed to be able to tell himself she was right there with him and completely unharmed.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly into her hair, which no longer smelled strongly of strawberries anymore, masked by the bleach smell.

She nodded into his shoulder, "I'm just tired. I think I want to eat dinner and then get to bed for the night."

"Go take a warm shower; I'll bring the food up to your room."

"Thank you."

When Bella was all done eating her fettuccini Alfredo and smelling like strawberries again, she snuggled down into the safety of her down comforter and wiggled closer to Edward's warm body. She sighed contentedly and relaxed into slumber quickly. Her head was resting on Edward's chest and occasionally she would nuzzle her nose into his skin before relaxing again.

Wrapping his arm around her to keep her close, he brushed her hair out of her face and pressed his nose into her hair, breathing in the sweet smell of strawberries. With one final thought, he contently joined her in her sleep. _She's everything good in the world._

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><p><strong>AN: Hey all, I figured I'd give you something more to read this week since you were all so good last week. You guys keep me motivated to write. Thank you!**

**As usual, leave a review but don't be mean just to be mean. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. ****I love the questions you have about the story, because that allows me to know what I need to make clearer later on in the story.**

**And last but definitely not least, my miracle worker, my beta, TwiSNFan. She is the reason this story is on here. She was the one to convince me to start posting. We are learning together and all of this is possible because she is the one who catches most, if not all my mistakes. She's the reason it is legible.**

**Just a side note, I am not from Chicago so I don't quite know what's where there. I'm sorry if there were issues with the mall shops in previous chapters. I will try to make most of the stuff historical and accurate but sometimes I need to change a few things to make everything possible. Sorry to those who caught that.**

**And for this chapter, bleach is not flammable but if you add ammonia to bleach it produces a deadly gas that was used in WWI and WWII. So all the household products used in this chapter do not have ammonia in them. Do not add those two together! Do not try that at home! It will kill you!**

**I am already writing Chapter 6 so watch for that hopefully soon. It's when things start really picking up….hopefully if that's how the characters want. They are pushy when they want me to write something a complete 180 than what I intended.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I do not own Twilight, and am not and will never be SM. No infringement intended. I'm just borrowing her characters to creat the story that's been floating around in my head for quite some time.**

**Since all y'all are eager to start reading this thing, I'll see you below.**

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><p>The day started just as any other. Bella awoke and went about her normal morning bathroom routine, brushing her teeth and hair, washing her face and getting dressed. Then she made her way down to the kitchen and made a large batch of chocolate chip pancakes, coffee and a fruit salad for the others.<p>

She had just finished plating what seemed like the twentieth pancake when a blonde haired man stumbled in looking very sleepy. He ran his hand over his hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, and smacked his lips, trying to fully wake up.

Bella glanced over at the man, not knowing who he was, but smiled nonetheless, and greeted him with a friendly "hello."

He looked up at her, not understanding what she was doing. Cooking was Varner's job; it had been for the past ten years. "Where's Varner?"

She smiled at him, "He won't be in until later. Edward told me he called in last night. Apparently he has a family emergency this morning. I figured I would help out since I know how to cook and all. Would you like some coffee?"

"Sure," he grumbled as he sat down in one of the breakfast nook chairs.

She poured him a cup and offered, "cream? Sugar?"

"Just black, thank you."

She brought over a large cup of coffee and placed it before him and asked, "How many pancakes would you like? They're chocolate," she asked kindly.

"Two? Three?"

Bella smiled at him and went back to get some pancakes for the unknown man. She placed the plate in front of him with a fork, knife and a bottle of maple syrup. With another plate, containing a few pancakes, and a glass of pineapple juice, she sat down across from the man.

"My name's Bella."

"James."

"It's nice to meet you, James," Bella replied. The man grunted and dug into the pancakes.

He watched her surreptitiously from the corner of his eye, trying to determine why Edward liked her so much, granted she seemed nice and helpful, but could that really hold his attention for much longer? There were nice girls he'd interacted with in the past, but none of them lived up to his expectations. What was different about this one?

They sat in silence for almost a half an hour when Edward came down. He saw Bella and smiled as he gathered a few pancakes for himself. He went over and sat next to Bella and asked, "You know we could have made breakfast on our own, right?"

"Says the man who couldn't boil water? Or so Sarah tells me." Bella retorted smugly. She shrugged and told him, "I don't mind. I like cooking. It relaxes me now that I don't have to worry if it doesn't quite turn out the way it was supposed to."

Edward draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. He kissed the crown of her head and started eating his breakfast. Before long he was groaning in appreciation. "These are so good. I hope there are more of them because I think I might just have to eat the rest in the kitchen."

Bella poked Edward in the ribs, forcing him to bow away from her as he chuckled. "You'll do no such thing. Those are for everybody…I may have to make more for Emmett though. I'm sure he could eat the rest in there and not be phased in the least."

"He's done it before," Edward chuckled.

Bella groaned good naturedly and leaned her head over to rest on Edward's shoulder. "He can make his own."

Emmett stumbled in moments later in a pair of red and blue Spiderman lounge pants, scratching his bare stomach as he yawned. Bella made a face at him, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Edward chuckled as he ate another bite of his breakfast. "Chocolate chip pancakes on the kitchen counter. There's coffee in the pot and fruit salad in the fridge. Help yourself. Just make sure to leave enough for the rest of the family."

"Varner made chocolate chip pancakes?" Emmett asked, immediately brightening up, looking exactly like a little boy at Christmas.

Edward shook his head, "Bella did."

"I think I'm in love," Emmett played as he clapped his hand over his heart, "Marry me…"

"Can't. Sorry," Bella said as she took a sip of her pineapple juice.

A smack resounded throughout the open space, causing Edward, James and Bella to jump as they looked back at Emmett, having just been smacked upside the head by Rosalie, who was dressed like she was ready to go out somewhere. She never left her bedroom without being fully dressed to impress and put together for the day ahead. She smiled at Bella before following Emmett into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

Emmett didn't waste time gathering his food. He took half of the plate of pancakes and a scoop or two of fruit. When he sat down at the breakfast nook, he licked his lips as he stared at the food. Grabbing the maple syrup, he told Bella, "Thank you for the pancakes. You didn't have to do that."

"And force you to make a sandwich? Nope, it's fine."

Emmett smiled brightly at Bella and dug into his food savagely. Rosalie returned with a bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee and cream and sat next to Emmett. Everything was quiet as they all ate their food. Bella laid her head on Edward's shoulder and watched Emmett and Rosalie eat.

Buttoning up the second to top button on his shirt, Carlisle walked out from the elevator area and into the kitchen. He saw the mouthwatering food sitting there, the aroma pungent in the air and licked his lips in anticipation. He hadn't had pancakes in so long. The pile on his plate rivaled Emmett's as he took his seat at the breakfast nook.

Not yet sure quite what to make of him, Bella watched Carlisle as he took in the scrumptious goodness before he dug in, devouring the chocolaty sweetness with a loud moan. The others at the table laughed as Bella giggled at his reaction.

"Who made breakfast? I know it wasn't Varner. He has strict instructions from mother not to make anything this good; especially something with chocolate in it. _It's too fattening_," he tried to mimic his mother's voice, but it was too high pitched and annoying to be considered Elizabeth's. Edward chuckled as he took another bite of his food, not looking up at anyone. It was all too true.

"Wait, what?" Bella asked looking from one person to the next. "Chocolate's not fattening if you use will power and moderation."

"Well, apparently mother doesn't have any," Emmett mumbled through his food.

Carlisle explained to Bella, "We haven't been allowed to have chocolate or any other sweets in this house."

"Ever?" Bella asked, appalled.

"Ever," Edward acquiesced.

"Even as children?" Bella asked, looking at the Cullen men with wide eyes.

"Even as children," Carlisle agreed, nodding his head.

"But every child needs candy every now and then. That's just how the world works!" Bella argued, "What kind of control freak doesn't allow their children to have candy?"

The moment it came out of her mouth everybody began laughing and she blushed bright red in embarrassment, clapping her hand over her mouth. She ducked her head and tried to hide but Edward wouldn't let her. He brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear before pulling her chin up so she would look at him. His smile was bright and wide as his eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Don't be embarrassed about stating the truth. She is a control freak and if she doesn't deem it in her plans, for whatever reason, she will do anything and everything to make it sure it doesn't happen. She's been trying to control us," he motioned to Emmett, Carlisle and himself before continuing, "for years. It didn't really work after about thirteen years old though."

"Yeah, that's when we started noticing girls. And what self respecting boy wants his mother to dictate who he sees, where they go and for how long," Emmett joked with food in his mouth. The smack that followed made Bella flinch and cringe into Edward's side.

"Hey!" Emmett spluttered as he rubbed the back of his head to take the sting away, looking over at Rosalie. "What was that for?"

"That was for being crass," she replied calmly.

"I don't understand why she couldn't let you have a piece or two of candy every now and then. Every child needs the happiness of that every once in a while. Before…" she hesitated, not knowing how to explain her thoughts. "In my situation, I can understand. I didn't have much to begin with. A piece of candy would have been a God-send, but I distinctly remember sharing a piece of candy or a cookie or whatever with my brothers when we were younger. I used to look forward to coming home from school because I got to play with my brothers and have a tall glass of milk and, with a good school report, a treat. I can't imagine not having those…memories."

"That's what a good mother's supposed to be like. Let's just call my mother….an eccentric control freak and leave it at that," Edward replied, rubbing Bella's back to sooth her from her memories.

James watched the interaction between Bella and Edward with a curious eye. He had never seen the youngest Cullen this way before and was curious about why he chose this young girl before him. She didn't look like anything special with her waist length brown hair, her pale skin, dark eyes and small, petite frame, but Edward apparently saw something special in her. James hadn't seen Edward looking this happy in the seven years since they met.

Bella leaned into Edward and whispered in his ear, "When am I going to meet your mother and the last sister-in-law?"

Edward shrugged, "I don't know. I've been trying to get them to meet you since we got together, but they're always busy schmoozing around with the high class socialites of the city. They're the ones that do the parties and tea with the pinkie finger out, pretending to be all civil until the others turn their back. Then the claws come out. I'm actually kind of grateful you haven't met them before. I don't want their behavior reflected on me and I guarantee that they'll do something to make either them or me look bad when you do finally meet them."

Bella nodded and lay her head down on his shoulder again. Her nightmares had been coming back during the night, keeping her up until all hours. She was tired and sleep deprived so she closed her eyes and rested on Edward.

Edward saw how tired she was and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He leaned over to rest his cheek on the top of her head as he listened to the tail end of Carlisle and Emmett's conversation.

"Father said your hummer would be back from the shop and in its parking space by nine this morning."

_Usual procedure_, Edward thought as he stroked Bella's hair down her back, infatuated with how soft her hair always was. After every job they took the car to one of their trusted car detailers and had them completely overhaul it, inside and out. _You can never be too careful. One small mistake could land you in jail for the rest of your life._ This was why they tried to always take care of each other, cleaning up after themselves at all times.

Licking his plate of the chocolate and maple syrup like a dog would, Emmett inquired "Sweet. Usual?" though he already knew the answer.

Carlisle nodded, "The usual."

"Good, now you can take us girls to the store. Alice has been dying to see what new things they have at the Water Tower Place," Rosalie mentioned as she looked over at Bella, "Would you like to come with us today?"

Bella bit her bottom lip. _Did she really want to go with Alice, the shop-a-holic to the mall? She'd probably die there of old age before they got back. Alice would make her try on all sorts of clothes and either buy things for Bella, or make Bella buy things herself, things that she would never wear, never use, and never like. No, shopping with the hyper pixie was not something she wanted to do that day._ She shook her head shyly, "I was planning on reading today. Your library is so large, I figured I'd better get a start on the different books if I'm going to get to read them all."

Smirking, Rosalie nodded, "Smart move, Sugar. Alice can be possessed when it comes to shopping and clothes. I'm not quite sure you're ready for that just yet. We'd better build your tolerance up if we want you to come out with us one day in the future. Don't worry, we'll get there, you get used to it after a while."

Bella grimaced and shivered as if it would be horrible to even think of the event. "Shopping is scary to begin with, I'm sure it would only get more terrifying if…"

Rosalie laughed loudly, "You have no idea. Don't worry about today, I'll cover for you."

"Thank you," Bella whispered, embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," she waved Bella off as if it were nothing. She stood up to bus her dishes but stopped just inside the kitchen and turned back to Bella. "From now on," she spoke up, grabbing Bella's attention again, "You can call me Rose." Bella's lips turned up in a small smile and she nodded once. She watched as Rose went to one of the kitchen's dishwasher and placed her dirty dishes inside, but she turned around when she felt Edward move beside her.

"So," Edward said gently in her ear, "What did you and my father speak about in his office last night?"

Bella shrugged noncommittally, remembering what Edward Senior had revealed to her and how he trusted her enough to not say anything. "Oh, you know this and that."

Edward could feel she was holding something back, but knowing his father, he had asked her to keep it confidential. He didn't push the subject much, "And what is this and what is that?"

Bella smiled up at him and told him, "We bonded last night. Now we're like this," she said raising her hand and crossing her index finger and her middle finger, indicating they were close.

James spluttered from across the table, choking on his morning coffee, hacking to get it out of his windpipe as he watched Edward and Bella. He set the cup down shakily on the table top as Emmett reached over and pounded on his back.

"You okay man?" Emmett asked.

James wheezed out a, "Yes," before he continued to cough.

Usually anyone, who went into Edward Senior's office to have a sit down with him rarely came out of there in a good mood, let alone joking. They often got chewed up and spit out as a consequence of having done something wrong, and here this girl was, clearly joking about what occurred in there.

James couldn't fathom what the two of them really discussed in his office, but he knew it wasn't along the same lines of his own discussions with Edward Senior. She wasn't in the life and he doubted she would do anything to garner the wrath of the feared mob boss. It had to be personal, but why was she in a good mood? Edward Senior had a reputation of being a hard ass, a stickler, who yelled at everyone, including his own children. He was known for having a heart of ice, if there was even one in his chest at all. _This girl was speaking about him as if she didn't know his reputation and hadn't endured his wrath._

"He was asking me fashion advice," Bella relented playfully, "He wanted to know if the earrings clashed with the dress and the heels he was planning to wear to the next fancy shindig. I told him it was all good, but the bag had to go." Bella giggled adorably as she playfully rolled her eyes.

James couldn't help the small smile that tugged on his lips for the first time in seven years. Now he saw what all the fuss was about over this girl. She could breathe the life back into anyone and get the coldest of hearts beating again. In just this short interaction witnessed, she reminded him a lot of his Victoria.

Edward laughed loudly having seen, out of the corner of his eye, seeing James smile for the first time since they had met. He smiled down at Bella and kissed her forehead before he told her, "I was right about you, you know?" Bella's brows wrinkled in confusion. _What was he right about?_ "The day we made truffles, when I said you must have some sort of strange voodoo to make good first impressions. Everybody that meets you loves you."

Shrugging, a blushing Bella told him, "I'm not so sure about that."

"I am," Edward whispered sincerely.

"What are the rest of you going to do today?" Rose asked coming back into the room.

Carlisle shrugged, "I'm off to work."

"How did you manage to have to work two to three days a week, again?" Emmett asked.

Carlisle smirked into his coffee cup, "I'm just that good I guess."

"What about the rest of you?" Rose asked, directing it at James, Emmett and Edward.

"I think I'm going to mill around here today, see what kind of trouble I can get into," Edward replied.

Emmett smiled goofily up at her, showcasing his dimples, "You know me, honey, I'll be working on my art project."

"I'm going to go home and finish some things up," James answered her.

"All right, well, I don't know what time us girls are going to get back, we all like to shop 'til we drop. I have no clue what the others are doing today, either." Rose left the room for the elevator, no doubt to go wake up Esme and Alice so they could get out of there.

Emmett bused his plates to the kitchen and quickly put them in the dishwasher. He strolled out and, with a smile, told the others, "I'm off to work in the shop upstairs, if you need me, come get me, I won't be able to hear my phone."

"Will do," Edward answered, nodding.

"It was nice having you here last night, James. Did you get a good night's rest?" Emmett inquired.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I should probably do that more often…"

Emmett smiled brighter and nodded at his still grieving friend, "Anytime you need a break, don't hesitate to just show up. You always have a place to stay here. You're part of the family, blood or not."

James nodded in understanding, "Thanks."

Emmett waved and told him, "any time brother. I'll see you later," as he rushed up all six flights of stairs for the exercise.

Bella leaned in close to Edward and quietly asked, "Where is he going?"

"There's a metal shop on the seventh floor. He often uses it to tinker with some projects he creates in his head. Each of us has an art room on one floor or another," Edward answered.

Bella looked him in the eyes, shocked by the answer, "You each have your own art room?"

He nodded, "Everyone except Father. He's not really an artistic person. He relaxes a different way."

"What are the different rooms and who are they for?" Bella inquired, clearly sounding intrigued.

Edward cleared his throat and waved at James, who was leaving, before turning back to Bella to answer her question. "Mother has her own calligraphy room, Aro has his own sketching room, both of which are on the sixth floor. Sculpicia has her Architecture room on the fifth floor, Carlisle has his clay room on our floor, along with my painting studio and my music room with my baby grand, Esme has her drawing room on the third floor along with Rosalie's design room and Alice's sewing room. Jasper's woodshop is on the floor above us and as I told you, Emmett has his metal shop on the seventh floor."

"You play the piano?" Bella asked shocked. This was something she didn't know about him. Granted she didn't know everything about him, but she still felt she knew more than the average person, so finding out he was an accomplished pianist completely shocked her.

He nodded and shyly replied, "Maybe you can sit with me some time while I play?"

Bella beamed brightly up at him. He wanted her to sit with him while he played? It was unfathomable to her. "Absolutely. I'd love that." His smile widened at her confession and he kissed her temple.

"Well, you two, I think I'm going to go get ready for work and head out. I'll be back in about twelve hours or so, depending on how packed the place is today," Carlisle interjected.

"All right, I'll call you if anything happens here. Have fun and fix lots of people," Edward joked, looking over at his brother.

Carlisle smiled, just slightly crooked like his youngest brother and cleared his plates before leaving to go get ready for his day. He was lucky his reputation preceded him. He was able to make a deal with Chicago Memorial Hospital, a few blocks away from home, to work only two to three days a week, but cover both the emergency room and the operating room. He was a multifaceted doctor that could be used wherever needed. The administration couldn't pass up the prestige of having Dr. Carlisle Cullen, a young, charismatic, world renowned surgeon on their team of doctors, so they allowed him his own rules.

Edward cleaned his plate and looked over at Bella before he quietly inquired, "What book would you like to read today?"

Shrugging, Bella asked, "What do you guys have?"

"We have a fully stocked library. So whatever your heart desires."

"Are you going to do some work or can you read with me?" She asked with large, innocent looking doe eyes.

He smiled down at her, pulling her close and told her, "I want to be where you are."

The multilevel library was quiet and peaceful. It wasn't musty and warm like most libraries. It was cool, yet inviting. Bella knew what section she wanted, so finding her book was easy. The classic section was up on the sixth floor and she quickly picked out a classic she loved, Wuthering Heights, and curled up on one of the comfortable, black, supple leather couches. Edward followed her to the couch with his own book and curled up next to her.

Bella looked up at him, biting her lip. Edward saw her and gently pulled her lip from being punished by her worrisome teeth. "What's wrong?"

Shrugging, Bella turned to start reading her book, but Edward gently took it from her hands and turned her chin towards him. "What are you thinking? I can never tell what you're thinking and it drives me insane."

Bella studied his face for a long, tense moment, trying to read the emotions in his eyes. When she couldn't decipher those emotions, she sighed in frustration and asked, "What do you think about this marriage? I mean…" she huffed and ran her hand over her hair before she started again, "I don't want to sound like a whiney little teenager who needs reassurance, but do you think of this marriage as a real one? I mean…do you think you could ever like me…like that…or is this going to be one of those marriages where even years down the road, we sleep in separate bedrooms and rarely speak to one another….?"

A frown slowly etched into his own face as he studied hers. "Do you want that?" he asked quietly, dejectedly.

"I don't, but I don't know what you want. I don't want to get attached to you only to find out later that you don't like me the same way. I don't want to get hurt. I don't want to open myself up to someone else and get hurt again. Everybody I've ever loved left me in some way or another. I don't want that to happen with you as well…." She looked down at her hands as her eyes welled with tears. She didn't want him to see her like this.

"Where is this coming from? I thought we were getting along great these past couple of weeks?" he said uncertainly. "I love being with you. You look at things differently. You show me a different way to look at the world. You make me feel like a better man than I think I am. I don't want a fake marriage. I don't want a marriage on paper but nothing between us. I know we did everything backwards between us, but I thought we were making progress, especially this past week…" He cupped Bella's wet cheek and looked into her eyes, "I want us get to know one another before we take this marriage any further. I want us to know what makes the other tick even before we add all that other stuff in. I told you before, I won't do anything you aren't ready for. It may take years for us to get to that point, but I will wait for you. I'm not that kind of man, the kind that forces himself on defenseless young women. During that time I want to get to know you for you. I want to know how you think. I want to be able to look into your eyes and know, without words, what you're thinking. I want us to be on the same wave length, able to know what you're going to say or do before you do it. Adding the rest of that in complicates things, especially if we're just beginning. After the way we started out, I want that foundation between us before everything gets more complicated."

"So, you really want this? Between us?" Bella asked once more for clarification.

Edward smiled his crooked grin and gently kissed her forehead before telling her, "Absolutely…. Only if you want it as well…?" Bella nodded once, completely determined that that was what she wanted. For the first time since her parents had died, she knew this was where she belonged.

They smiled goofily at one another as they both picked up their books to read and scooted closer to one another on the couch.

The hours passed as they read in each other's company. The sun rose higher against the backdrop of the grey buildings, creating a kaleidoscope pattern through the buildings. The sun was bright that day, shining its rays throughout the room, dancing across the floor as they battled with the shadows in a playful game of advance and retreat.

The hours whittled away into early afternoon. Edward, unable to concentrate on his book had slowly inched his way closer to Bella throughout their time in the library, unable to maintain his distance from her. At one point he had reclined back on the long soft couch with his head near Bella's thighs and his feet propped on the far arm rest. He kept up the appearance of reading his book as he then scooted closer and closer to her until, finally, his unruly hair was sandwiched between the top of his scalp and her thigh.

Bella smiled, knowing what he was trying to surreptitiously do. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the smile from appearing on her lips as she pretended to read her own novel. She had been pretending to read the book in her hands for the past few hours, having to reread the same paragraph over and over, never really taking the meaning in. She reached out and innocently ran her hand over his hair sticking out between them. They both smiled but refused to look at one another. They both knew what they were doing; the other too.

Edward's head somehow managed to weasel its way onto Bella's lap sometime later. Her hand worked through his hair, gently scratching his scalp and he sounded like he was almost purring. He had a sweet, serene smile on his lips as he pretended to keep reading his novel. She continued running her fingers through his soft locks as she pretended to read her own.

The soothing motion felt by both relaxed them into an almost sleepy haze as they sat there in the early afternoon sun light.

By early afternoon, Emmett finally took a break from the project he was constructing in the metal shop. He wanted to give it to his Rosie for their anniversary in a few months. He was so excited about it. He couldn't wait to give it to her and see her face. It was close to his heart and he knew Rose would absolutely love it. He was giddy with excitement whenever he thought of her reaction.

However, all the work often left him hungry. He would forgo a meal or two while working so hard on his projects, forgetting, in his excitement, to eat and leaving him absolutely ravenous once he remembered. He would eat twice as much as normal just to make up for it. He didn't care. He was making good time with his work.

The knock on the door alerted Emmett to a visitor as he finished making his sandwich. He was chewing a mouthful as he opened the door, but the sandwich fell from his hands as a number of police rudely pushed their way into the apartment.

"HEY!" Emmett cried as he looked from his now destroyed masterpiece on the floor to the police. "You killed my sandwich! I hope you've got a warrant otherwise this is breaking my fourth amendment right!" Emmett called after the officers that had already entered the home.

"Like you even know what that amendment consists of," one of the detectives snarked back at him as he produced a warrant from the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to Emmett.

Emmett took it and unfolded it, but before he could start reading it, the detective snatched it back from his hands before a uniformed officer arrested Emmett. The officer started pushing Emmett out of the house to get him down to the car as Emmett called out, "Are you arresting me? For what? I want my phone call and I want an attorney. You can't talk to me."

The detective with the warrant entered the apartment and looked around the mudroom before moving further into the home. He looked around and made a face as he took everything in. _How did they live with themselves? Making money on other people's despair?_ He continued his way through the apartment and was just about to hit the elevator button when it dinged open.

Standing there were two officers with a man and young woman in handcuffs. He smiled gloatingly at the man and smirked, "Ah, Edward, what a lovely coincidence."

"Black," Edward spat.

Detective Black turned to the young girl and asked, "And who do we have here? I thought you didn't bring your two bit sluts to your place, Edward. Are you getting sloppy?"

Edward opened his mouth to argue with the detective when Bella nudged his side prompting the officer standing to her left to grab her arm. She looked up at Edward, imploring him not to do or say anything stupid. She realized that was Black's plan; to rile him up and hope he gave away something that could be used against him. Edward watched angrily as the uniformed officer jostled her out of the elevator and down to the police car to take her to the station.

Waiting until she was escorted out , Edward addressed Detective Black and parroted Emmett's words. "I want my phone call, I want my lawyer. You can't speak to me."

Smirking sinisterly, Detective Black shrugged at the man he disliked the most in the world, "I don't need to talk to you because the minute I get into the interrogation room with your little slut, she'll sing like a canary. They all do, it's just a matter of time. Have you told her any secrets you might be regretting right now? Don't worry; I'll make sure she knows how you really feel about her."

The officer escorted Edward out of the apartment and down to the car. They took a short ride to the police department and Edward was given his one call to his lawyer, informing him that the three of them were being detained, and was then placed was in an interrogation room. He sat down in one of the chairs and leaned back, hands folded behind his head as he waited for his lawyer and the police to come in.

An arrest happened every so often. It never stuck and was almost always bogus, but it still racked the family, not knowing if they had overlooked something that would lock one of them up for the rest of their lives. He hoped Bella would know to keep quiet and say nothing. Judging by her past actions, he thought she would, but there was always that small chance; the unknown.

Bella was placed in a cold interrogation room and directed to sit in the chair facing the two way mirror before the officer removed the handcuffs and left the room. Sitting down in the appropriate seat, she rubbed her tender wrists to try to get some blood flow back into them.

She felt herself shutting down as her skin touched the cold steel of the chair she was sitting on, just like she had when she was back at her aunt and uncle's place. The way the officers jerked her around, most likely leaving bruises on her arms, gave her a sense of déjà vu.

They didn't even Mirandize her when they slapped the cuffs on her wrists and escorted them down to the first floor, where they met that ghastly, rude detective. The detective calling her a slut, right to her face, immediately sent her back to her past again and she could feel her shoulder slump in resignation. Whatever help he was expecting to get from her flew out the window the moment he made that comment. _Why would she help someone who called her such despicable names? He degraded her and now he thinks everything is all peachy keen and he'll get whatever he wants? Not going to happen._

The cool air in the sterile, off blue colored room was supposed to keep her on edge, but with the self induced numbness, she didn't feel much of anything. All of her senses were shut down; waiting for the blow she knew would come; waiting for the pain. She sat there curled up in the chair with her knees tucked under her chin and arms wrapped around them, staring at the floor. There was a scuff mark, probably from someone's shoe, in front of the mirror and that's where her vision stayed, concentrated on that scuffmark.

She was so lost in her own mind, she didn't even hear the door opened as Detective Black entered. He slapped a manila file folder down on the steel table between them and sat down in the unoccupied chair. He flipped opened the file and looked up at the young girl, noticing there was a vacant look in her eyes.

"My name is Detective Black. Can you tell me your name?"

No reaction and no answer.

"Do you know why you're here?" He asked again.

Yet again, no answer.

"Your friends, the Cullen's, are all under arrest for kidnapping two men, and probably murder once we get the evidence…" he said off handedly, hoping for a reaction. Something. Anything. If it had been any other girl Edward had brought home, she would have cracked by now, but this girl was acting like she didn't even know he was in the room with her.

He sighed in frustration and anger, "Listen lady, I'm going after the Cullen's and I will get them. I know they're Mafia and I know they've killed people. Do you want to get between me and my arrest? If so, I can make your life a living hell."

Still no answer.

He slapped the file shut and stormed out of the room with it tucked under his arm. He made his way into the observation room where Mr. Peter Banks, in a fancy suit, carrying a briefcase, was standing, arguing with one of Black's detectives.

"She hasn't asked for a lawyer," the detective argued.

"I was told she wasn't even Mirandized. I am legal counsel for her."

"She's not under arrest," the young detective replied, clearly frustrated at having to remind the lawyer multiple times.

"And who exactly is she?" Black asked the lawyer.

Peter looked over at Black and asked, "You expect me to do all your work for you? Why don't you go do what you're good at and figure it out on your own. A good detective like you doesn't need help from a defense attorney like me."

"Jared, why don't you show Mr. Banks out to the waiting area." Black turned his attention from the detective to the lawyer and added, sarcastically, "if she asks for a lawyer, I'll be sure to come get you."

Black grabbed a glass of water and returned to the interrogation room, setting it down in front of Bella on the table. He hoped that would break her out of her trance so he could get some information from her about the Cullen's.

"Miss, you need to talk to me, maybe I can help you get away from them…"

It was then he heard one word, the first word she had said in front of him. It was soft and sweet, but her voice was trembling slightly. "Lawyer."

Not a second later, Mr. Banks walked in with a smug smile on his face and made his way around the table to sit next to Bella. She hadn't moved a muscle and was still stuck in her head.

Mr. Banks looked over at Black and asked, "Now, are you going to badger my client or are we free to go?"

"I'm entitled to ask her some questions, like her name and what she was doing at the Cullen's house. Unless she's trying to hide something, she should answer the questions."

"She doesn't have to answer anything," Mr. Banks pled.

Black looked over at Bella and asked, "Are you really going to let them play you like that? They're using you! Once they're done they're going to discard you like trash!"

"I think that's enough," Mr. Banks said as he stood up and grabbed hold of his briefcase. He looked over at Black and told him, "I expect copies of the warrant and a detailed list of everything taken from the apartment and from which room. If anything is missing, I will be lodging a complaint against you with your superiors and I will file a law suit against you and anyone else that was there. Now, I believe it's time for us to leave."

Slamming his fists down loudly on the steel table, Black shouted, "I'm trying to catch murders and you're making it impossible!"

Bella flinched away from the loud noise, almost toppling back onto the tiled floor and started trembling badly as the front legs of the steel chair crashed back down on the floor. Her breathing was coming in harsh pants and her entire body was shaking. The tremors were almost debilitating and the chair shook along with her, making a high pitched rattling sound as it screeched against the tiling.

Mr. Banks looked from Bella to Black and said, "I think that's all for now. Have a good day, Detective, and from now on, anything you have to say to, or ask of my clients will go through me. If you do not abide by those instructions, I will file a harassment claim against you. I suggest you heed the warning." He looked down at Bella, still curled tightly into a ball on her chair and held out a hand for her to take, to signal they were leaving. She flinched away from the hand at first before she took it with a shaky hand and stood with his help. Her legs and knees were wobbly and almost gave out a time or two because they were so unstable, but Mr. Banks stood beside her, ready, and caught her each time with gentle, yet firm arms whispering gently that everything would be okay. They only had to make it to the waiting room and they were home free.

When Mr. Banks escorted her out of the interrogation room, he murmured lowly in her ear, "Edward is waiting right around the corner for you." He let her go, watching her round the corner until she was out of sight and only then did he go to the front desk of the station to get all of the paperwork he would need.

Bella turned into the waiting room, still shaking with fear and flashbacks of her life past. She looked around and saw Edward standing there, staring at her. He held his arms out to give her a hug, but she ran into his chest unexpectedly. He was lucky he was as built as he was, since anyone smaller would have flown back with the impact. Edward wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding onto her for dear life and nuzzled his nose into her hair, whispering to her softly, "its okay, love. I've got you. Everything's going to be okay. I've got you now…"

Clutching onto Edward's shirt for comfort and safety, she let the emotions go. The tears started as one or two, but quickly turned into rivers falling down her cheek and soaking into Edward's shirt. In his arms was the only place she felt comfortable and she needed that now more than ever. She'd had that same feeling in her parent's arms when she was little, but it was so long ago that the feeling had been lost; foreign to her. She just wanted to feel safe again.

As she broke down for the first time since they met, Edward realized just how much he would give to be able to take away her pain. She was hurting and he couldn't do anything to help her, except hold her until it passed. His arms tightened around her trembling figure, trying to hold her together. Her pain was palpable and he felt his heart crack as he tried, but failed to be what she needed. He wanted to make her smile, to make her laugh, to make her whole again, but he didn't know how and it was killing him inside.

Edward's hand tangled into her hair, pulling her head closer to his, her tears still soaking his shirt with every drop. He couldn't let her go for fear she would break. His fingers dug into her scalp as his other hand's grip bruised her side from clutching her to him so tightly, trying to ground her in the here and now. _When she finally broke apart, would he be able to piece her back together, like they tried with Humpty Dumpty? Would she be beyond repair? Could he be the one to save her?_

They stood there in the waiting area of the police department for an unknown amount of time. She continued to cry and tremble against him while Edward did nothing but hold her even tighter to him, trying to make her pain his. Their surroundings, along with the people in the room, melted away right along with the sounds. It was like they were standing in a regular old room, alone with one another.

When Mr. Banks made his way into the waiting room, with his briefcase in one hand and the paperwork in the other, he was startled to see the two of them clutching one another as tightly as they were. He made his way through the throngs of people to his two clients and laid a hand on Edward's shoulder.

Edward glanced over at his lawyer and nodded in understanding. He nuzzled his nose back in Bella's hair and whispered to her, "It's okay, love. We need to get out of here. We're just going to go home, ok? I'm not going to leave you." Bella nodded into his shoulder weakly as she continued to cry. She was so stiff and unmoving, Edward had to physically pick her up and carry her small frame out of the police station.

He held her close to his chest as he climbed into the back seat of a town car. Mr. Banks hopped in next to him from the other side and told his chauffer to drive to the Cullen apartment. Edward tried to place Bella in the seat next to him, to buckle them both, but she wouldn't retract her claws. She dug them further into his back whenever she felt he was going to set her down. He couldn't release her, she wouldn't let him with the strangle hold she had around him.

The broken whimper that escaped her throat broke his heart a little more, so he held her close. She buried further into his arms, trying to become one with him as they silently drove to the Cullen's apartment. The road was bumpy and the potholes made for a jerky ride but Edward held onto her tightly, unwilling to let her go even for a second.

When they reached the building, Edward thanked both Mr. Banks and the driver as he got out of the car with Bella still in his arms. She still wouldn't let him go and he wouldn't put her down. It made for an interesting dance as they made their way into the lobby and up to the front door of the apartment.

Bella, not able to register anything but the warm, safe body she was clutching, and the inviting, calming smell coming from it, didn't even notice they were no longer in the police station. It had not yet registered with her that they had traveled across town to the apartment and were walking through the door to greet the small gathering.

Everyone, minus Aro, Sculpicia, and Elizabeth stood in the family room, watching as Edward entered the room. He noticed the group standing there, watching Bella with curious, but distressed eyes. Edward looked at his father and for the first time, he didn't see Edward Senior, the mobster, he saw Edward Senior, the father. In all his life, Edward had never seen anything but a mean, calculating gleam in his father's eyes and now when he looked at him, all he could see was understanding and pain swimming in his eyes, filled with past memories.

For the first time since that morning, he didn't think it was impossible for Bella and his father to have bonded over something big; something only the two of them could appreciate; something his father had never shared with anyone else. That was the moment Edward knew Bella truly did have some weird voodoo within her, for she softened the beast within them all.

"How is she doing?" Edward Senior asked, surprising them all. Edward nodded once in response as he rubbed Bella's back to try to calm her.

"What happened?" Alice asked watching her friend sob uncontrollably.

"I don't know. I haven't been able to get a coherent word out of her since she was released…"

"I'm sure she's just exhausted. Why don't you go on up to her room and lie down for a while," Esme suggested.

Edward nodded; he was going to do that anyway. "I'll see all of you later."

Emmett stepped forward, causing Edward to pause, "I need to talk to you real quick. It'll only take a second and it's urgent."

Edward stood there with the clingy, weeping Bella in his arms as Emmett approached, leaned in real close to his ear and whispered, "Careful, a couple of the cops that were here earlier looked like they were on the geek squad. I already told Father I wouldn't be surprised if they have this place bugged for audio and video. Be careful what you say and do until we can have this place swept."

Edward nodded gravely, looking from his father to his brother, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Right now I just want to get her into her bed so she can try and relax and get some sleep. I'll talk to you later."

"I'll get them up here right away," their father promised, "It'll be taken care of by tonight."

At the same moment Edward entered Bella's room and turned on the light, Black walked into a dark room, accompanied by a technical analyst and another fellow detective and plopped down in front of ten large computer screens that were cut into nine squares each. He studied the two screens for a moment, each showing people moving around, going about their business, before the other detective asked, "How are we going to do this, boss?"

"We're going to take the weakest link and turn them on the family. We're going to use him…or her as an inside informant to get what we need to bring down this family once and for all."

"And who's the weakest link?" the analyst asked.

Black studied each image carefully to find the person he had in mind before he finally located his intended informant and pointed to the screen, "that's her."

"Why her?" the other detective asked.

"Because I've never seen her with the Cullen's before, which leads me to believe she's the newest addition somehow. And she's weak. She completely broke down today. She'll be the easiest for us to flip. I'll have her in two days, mark my words," he all but growled as he watched the two figures on the screen curl up on a bed in one of the bedrooms. "I'm going to be the one to take these people down once and for all."

Bella didn't want to let Edward go, but he promised he wouldn't leave. He just needed to shut the door and turn down the lights before he joined her. He was quick in his actions and joined her on the bed just seconds later, scooping her up in his strong arms. She curled into him and buried her nose into his shirt as she clung to him again. He ran his hands up and down her back in a calming motion and made shushing noises into her hair.

"I'm sorry," Bella mumbled quietly into Edward's chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, love. But can you help me understand? What happened?"

The tears started again but Bella kept pushing on, "They put me into an interrogation room and I…I...I just shut down…. I don't know what happened," she cried.

"It's ok. Take a deep breath. You're safe now. I won't let anything else hurt you. Do you believe me?" He asked as he continued the calming strokes over her back, sides and hair.

She nodded into him and did what he told her. She took a deep breath, taking his scent deep into her lungs before she continued. "I only said one word the entire time I was in there with that detective. I asked for a lawyer and then that man showed up. The detective kept trying to get information out of me and then he got so angry and frustrated…" she cried, "he slammed the table and all I could see or hear was Sue and Phil yelling at me. I was waiting for the hitting to start, but…"

"Oh, love, I'm so sorry. You never should have had to endure that… Do you know the detective's name?"

"The one that called me your 'two bit slut' earlier."

"Black," Edward growled out.

"No," Bella begged, clutching him tighter to her, "Don't do anything, please. You can't leave me. Please. I need you. Don't do anything stupid. Don't leave me. Please. Please. Please."

Edward shushed her again and continued stroking over every inch of her back and sides where he could reach. It seemed to be calming her down, if only a little at a time. "I won't. You're safe. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life. Don't you worry about that," he said truthfully into her hair.

"You promise?" Bella asked looking up at him.

He smiled down at her, kissed her forehead and told her, "I promise on everything that's near and dear to me. You aren't going to get rid of me that easily, love."

She held up her pinky and in a shy, childish voice asked, "Pinkie promise."

Edward chuckled against her but reached up and wrapped his pinkie with hers, "I pinkie promise."

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><p><strong>AN: This is going to be a long one, so bear with me for a moment.**

**First and foremost, everyone should give TwiSNFan (Happy Birthday!) a very big round of applause, the best Beta in the world. I would fight anyone and everyone to the death if they try to steal her away from me. She's that good. She gets my sporadic comma usage under control all while making my ideas flow into legible works. I don't think any of this would make sense if not for her. If you have a minute, please go thank her for all her wonderful work and patience with me.**

**As usual, please leave me a review. They brighten my day. When I have a bad one, I go back and read all the encouraging ones. Please remember I am learning as I go. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but don't be mean just for the sake of being mean. That helps no one. Tell me what I need to improve upon or otherwise I won't know what to fix or how to fix it. Questions are ideal. What didn't you understand? What did I leave out? What are you thinking about the characters? Where do you think this story is going? What do you think will happen next? It all helps and you never know, I may just take your suggestions into consideration.**

**A big thank you to cm90zaw who pointed out the hummer situation in her review. That's why I very much appreciate reviews. They tell me what else I should explain further, what I missed and what I need to clarify. Thank you to all those who have reviewed, favorite the story/me or alerted the story/me. It has been overwhelming and humbling (in a good way.) The sheer number of hits to this story each day is mind boggling. And to think I was terrified to post anything in case I was a bad writer or people had a bad response to it. You guys are simply amazing and make this all worthwhile.**

**And last but not least, if you like my work so far then watch for a short O/S I will be posting soon. It is for one of my classes this semester so once it is graded, I'll let you guys tell me what you think. I do not know when I will be able to post it due to my class, but be on the lookout for that.**

**That's all my rambling I will do this time. Thanks for listening. This is what TwiSNFan prevents in my chapters. Isn't she great?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I do not own Twilight because I am not SM. I wish I was as rich as her.**

**Since y'all want to start reading, I'll see you all below-**

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><p>The rumbling woke Edward up early that morning, even before the sun arose in the sky. He groaned as he tried to figure out where he was. It didn't take him long because of the warmth laying on his chest and a few stray hairs tickling his nose.<p>

It hadn't been his intention to sleep in the room with her wrapped around him, but every time he tried to leave after she fell asleep, she would whimper and cry out and hold onto him tighter. The pitiful look on her face, added to the keening noise she made when she subconsciously thought he was abandoning her, broke his heart. And every time, he would just pull her closer and whisper soothing words in her ear until she calmed again.

Edward slapped his hand against the nightstand next to him, trying to find the offending piece of machinery to shut it up and not move Bella too much. He grumbled until he found it, popped it open and growled, "This better be important."

"Don't shoot the messenger," Jasper yawned over the phone, "We need to get to work, so get up. Marcus's crew is at the docks trying to commandeer our next shipment. Father wants us to go take care of it."

Growling, Edward asked, "And why can't Aro deal with it with a few of his trusty following? Why do I need to get out of my nice, warm bed?"

Jasper chuckled over the line and told him, "Don't lie. You're in the girl's bed. Don't try and lie to me. I know you better than you know yourself. And you need to get up because the crew is apparently a big one and Father thinks only the five of us can handle it properly."

Edward swiped his hand over his face and groaned, "He knows I don't want to be involved in the family business as much as Aro is, yet he keeps pulling all of us in."

"I know. Just do what he says or there's going to be hell to pay."

The groan answered Jasper. "I take it he's not going," Edward replied. He knew his father wouldn't get up in the middle of the night to handle things, that's what his lower minions were for and as much as Edward hated to admit it, he was one of those minions.

"You guessed correctly."

"I'll be ready to go in five minutes. Have someone put on a pot of coffee. I'm going to need it," Edward groaned out as he palmed his forehead.

"Already going," Jasper replied as he hung up the phone.

Snapping his phone shut, Edward flopped back down on the bed. He really did not want to get up and leave the nice, warm confines of Bella's bed, but he knew if he didn't, there would be hell to pay later on with his father.

Edward sighed and looked over at Bella one last time. He leaned close to her, kissed her forehead chastely and whispered against her soft, supple skin, "You're safe here. I'll be back soon."

He was looking forward to the time where he didn't have to get up at God-forsaken hours of the day and night. He was looking forward to being able to spend lazy mornings in bed with Bella, even if they were not doing anything but talking. He was looking forward to traveling with her and getting to know her. However, he knew that time wasn't coming up any time soon.

Dressing quickly in his room, he quickly scrawled out a note as he slipped his shoes on and hopped back to Bella's room. He quietly laid the note on her nightstand near the bed and watched her for another moment. He didn't want to leave her. He brushed her hair off her face, pushing it back onto the pillow, and kissed her forehead again before walking out the door and down to the kitchen.

Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Aro stood there with their coffee mugs in one hand while putting their guns in the back of their waistbands with the other.

Emmett smiled broadly when he saw Edward and joked, "Finally, it took you long enough. What were you doing up there? Getting one last time in?"

Edward glared over at his brother as Jasper handed him his cup of coffee. Edward snatched it from his hand and gulped the piping hot liquid down, burning his tongue and throat in the process. He grimaced at the bitter coffee yet poured himself another cup.

The men trailed from the elevator to the metallic, orange eyesore Hummer, Emmett insisted on getting, where they all piled in and buckled silently. Edward finished off the cup of coffee and squished the cup before hurling it into the trash bag in the front seat.

"What's going on? Nobody gave me any details beyond get my ass up and get ready to deal with Marcus' crew. Anyone else know anything?" Emmett asked as he started up his Hummer and pulled out of the garage.

Edward looked out the window as Jasper piped in, "Father said Marcus and his crew were down at the docks trying to hijack our shipment of guns. When Father got the information, they had just gotten there. He wants us to go get our guns back and take as many heads as possible. They've been a thorn in our side too long."

"Does he know that'll start a war?" Emmett asked looking back at Jasper with surprised eyes. It wasn't like their father to deliberately disregard the outcome of a situation just to take care of someone.

Jasper sighed and nodded, "He figures the sooner we can take them out, the sooner we can deal with the problem and not have to worry about anyone trying to cross us. The Volturi are the only ones stupid enough to even try."

Carlisle shook his head, "There's going to be a lot of bloodshed. They're ruthless. They won't just go after us; they'll go after the girls, too. Just make sure from now on you watch your wives closely, no matter where you are or who you're with."

"Which is exactly why Father wants them out of the picture for good," Jasper argued. "With the Cullen's running everything, it's run properly. Father doesn't go against great grandfather's rules he set back in the day. Innocent people don't get hurt or die and there are distinct rules that everybody understands. With the Volturi, it would be chaos. They don't care if you're a man or woman, old, or young. If you did anything to them, looked at them wrong, whatever, they don't have any problems blowing your head off. At least with us running the show things are civilized. I don't know why Black is so gung-ho about taking this family out, but I can guarantee that the minute we're out of the picture, at least ten rival gangs would be gunning for this spot and all hell would going to break loose with so much bloodshed in the streets."

The rest of the drive was completely silent. Edward stared out the window at the night sky. There were clouds and smog covering the stars, but he figured one night, not too far away, when it was a clear night, he would take Bella up to the roof to sit and watch the stars with her. He realized in that moment that he liked the little things with her. He didn't need to buy her fancy things just so she would tolerate him, he didn't need to pretend to want to be around her. He bought her things because he wanted to. He was around her because he wanted to be.

So far it had been an easy relationship; they hadn't had to work at it, it had just come naturally. He knew it wouldn't always be like that. There would be some hard times. They would fight and bicker with one another, but so far they had been lucky. They could work through those dark patches just to have more of the good times. Their start may have been unconventional by today's standards, but he was positive it would work out for the both of them

"All right, we're here," Emmett said, uncharacteristically quiet as he flipped the headlights off and parked the car off to the side of the docks. They all had a clear view of what was going on further down the docks and Edward immediately exclaimed, "I call the rifle."

"Aw man! I wanted to try my luck on that one tonight," Emmett whined.

"Tough shit man, I called it," Edward gloated.

They watched as Marcus and his cronies shot a few of the dockworkers- those who were both loyal to the Cullen family and would interfere- and started unloading the shipping freights into another boat that they could store somewhere and unload at a later date.

Edward pulled the rifle pieces out from under the floorboard of the Hummer and assembled it quickly, attaching the scope to the top and looking at the others. "I'll be somewhere around here, on higher ground. I'll wait for your signal then take out as many of Marcus' men as possible. We need all our dock workers alive to be able to get the boats unloaded."

"Where's our guard?" Aro hissed.

"Probably dead by now," Jasper reasoned.

"Great. We're probably going to be stuck watching these containers until morning," Aro grumbled with distain.

"Might as well get to work, gentlemen. The faster we finish this, the faster we can get home to our warm beds," Carlisle sighed as they all slipped out of the car with barely a sound between them.

The brothers took their positions around their down crew, the remainder of whom were working reluctantly at gunpoint to unload the ship, and surrounded them completely. Being stealthy was a trait they learned when they were still children. They could get away with more if no one heard them coming or going. Having the advantage of surprise was what made them so successful while dealing with situations like the one they were currently in.

Edward quickly found a higher spot and climbed up, fixing the scope and rifle so he was ready to fire when the others started. He settled down in his spot, put his eye to the end of the scope, found one of Marcus' men in the crosshairs men and kept the gun trained on his head, waiting for the sign.

Out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw one of Marcus' men on the outskirts of the operation. Turning his head, he watched as the man was yanked into the darkness quickly, undetected. He didn't have to hear the following snap of bones breaking to know he had most likely fallen prey to Emmett, who would have snapped his neck like a twig. The hushed whooshing sounds of bullets coming out of the barrel of a gun and into a silencer filled the air, not quite reaching Edward's ears. When he saw the first body fall, he started pulling the trigger as well.

Edward managed two rounds, two kill shots, before their targets realized what was going on and scrambled for cover as retrieved their guns from the back of their waistbands. The shouting was loud and panicked, their motions jerky and unprepared.

The eight dock-workers ran for cover and tried to make themselves as small as possible, attempting to get out of the line of fire. Their best chance of survival was to lay low and keep out of the way. They had no wish to be shot, and probably killed because they were working additional hours on the Cullen's payroll after their day shift.

Gunshots rang out through the darkness of night, echoing off the circling freight containers. Men yelled out directions and tried to organize themselves into a plan of attack, but it never took hold. The gunfight was short lived. Marcus' men weren't prepared for a fight, though they should have been expecting it considering they were attempting to steal weapons from the Cullen's.

Through the chaos of the fighting, yelling, gunshots and bullets ricocheting from metal containers, nobody noticed a man- with pale skin, dark hair, dressed in all black carrying a black and silver decorative walking cane- slip away from the fight, unharmed and undetected.

Only one man remained standing, and Jasper quickly disarmed him while Aro forced him on to his knees. His hands were locked behind his head and if he had tried to flee he wouldn't have made it three steps, given all the guns trained on him. Only then did Edward feel it was safe to go back to the Hummer and take the weapon apart to put away in its hiding spot.

"Where did Marcus go?" Jasper asked the man in a no nonsense tone.

"I don't know and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" the man spat blood down at Jasper's shoes.

Jasper was able to doge the bloody saliva at the last moment. He looked from his shoes up to the man and growled, "These are my favorite shoes. Do anything like that again, and I won't just kill you."

"Let's try this again," Emmett tried to appease Jasper. "Where does Marcus stay? And I suggest you don't lie to my brother here. He's already kind of testy tonight. Having to deal with assholes like you will do that to a person, especially when he could be at home with his wife, having a **very** good time. Catch my drift?"

The captive glared over at Emmett but kept his mouth closed. Emmett shook his head as Aro muttered sarcastically, "Wrong choice. Jasper?"

Without hesitating a moment, Jasper turned the gun towards the man and blew his right knee cap off. The man screamed; the sound echoing off the surrounding freight containers.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. If I don't like the answer, I'm going to kill you. Normally, I don't give out second chances, but today I'm feeling rather generous since we were able to get the guns back. Now, where does Marcus go to hide out when he knows a war is coming?"

"There's a little cabin up in the wilderness. I don't know where exactly, only that it's near Rockford. It's completely fortified with a panic room and a secret escape route that comes out two miles down the road at the old red barn. He has enough stuff up there to last him two years without leaving the place. If he knew a war was coming, he would go up there and hide out, only relaying his instructions through a designated cell phone and a computer connection. That's all I know!"

"Thank you so much," Jasper replied with a falsely sweet tone as he lifted the gun again and put a bullet right between the man's eyes.

The man slumped down, his head falling back as he collapsed back on the wet ground, eyes wide open and unnaturally still. A thin dribble of blood trickled from his wound, traveled down his forehead and dripped onto the dark pavement and mixed with a small pool of splashed lake water.

Jasper looked over at the others as he started twisting off the silencer. He slipped his gun into the back of his waist band as the silencer went into his pocket.

"Twenty bucks says Eddie's already in the Hummer, waiting on us to get back. Pansy," Emmett joked as he slipped his own gun in the back of his waistband.

They trekked up to the Hummer, where Edward was leaning against the back hatch waiting for them. He looked up at them and cocked an eyebrow before asking, "What took you guys so long?"

"We had business to take care of," Aro retorted sourly.

"Find Marcus?" Edward inquired as he pushed away from the car.

"He seems to have slipped through our fingers for the time being. But, we have some information on where he might be if he's expecting an all out war. We need to do some research to see if it was true or not, but if it is, I think we stand a pretty good chance of dealing with this quickly."

"Good. Hopefully we can end this before too many innocents die. Now, who wants to call Father? Because it sure as shit isn't going to be me."

Emmett grumbled and pulled out his cell phone. He didn't want to be the one to wake him up and he sure didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, having to report the loss of Marcus in the frenetic squabble earlier. _So much for coming through the night unscathed,_ he thought as he dialed the number and held it up to his ear.

The gruff voice of his father answered after the second ring, "What?"

But before Emmett could explain anything, he heard the sleepy voice of his mother over the line, whining at Edward Senior, "I thought we agreed that after midnight, there would be no more business related calls, huh? It's two am. Tell whoever it is to call you back after eight. I need my beauty sleep here. Being woken up from a dead sleep isn't conducive to being and staying pretty, you know."

"Liz, it's Emmett, I told you I'd try to keep the work related calls to a minimum after midnight. This is important, so just go back to sleep."

Emmett gagged while listening to his parents but stayed silent. Carlisle, Jasper and Edward laughed at Emmett's reaction while Aro rolled his eyes.

"Now, Emmett," Edward Senior replied, "what do you need?"

"It's done. We've got everything back, everyone is taken care of, but Marcus slipped out before we could catch him. We got some interesting news though. Jasper will have to explain it when we get back there. I don't want to do it over the phone."

"Yeah, sounds good. I've already sent James, Riley and Tyler out there so you guys can come home and get some sleep. They'll deal with the goods this time. They should be there in five minutes or so."

"Thanks. We'll see you in the morning."

"Sure thing," Edward Senior yawned as he hung up the phone.

Emmett turned back to the others to relay the conversation. "James, Riley and Tyler should be here any minute. They'll take care of the goods and Father said we could go home and get some sleep."

"Thank you," Jasper commented as he hopped into the Hummer and leaned back against the seat to get comfortable.

Since they had been called earlier, it wasn't long before Riley, Tyler and James arrived. They weren't very talkative due to the late hour, but James managed a quick "hello" before the three of them started moving the shipment around to unload the freight as quickly as possible. They accepted the help of the remaining dockworkers, who were shaken after their ordeal but had stayed to complete their job for the Cullen's. They all wanted to get out of the cold and back into their warm homes as quickly as possible.

Emmett didn't wait around long and hopped into the Hummer, where everybody else was already situated, and took off. He wanted to get home soon so he could warm up and start groveling at Rose's feet for being out so late.

Emmett had been driving for a while when Carlisle asked the others, "Maybe we should stop somewhere and get something for the girls? You know, maybe an 'I'm sorry' gift or something. I don't want Esme to feel left out. And we've been gone for quite a few hours as it is. We might as well do something nice for the girls that they aren't expecting."

"It's Halloween tomorrow. We've just been out all night, I think it would be a good idea," Jasper replied, "It might tide over some of their ire."

Emmett shrugged as he made a hard, left hand turn and pulled into a parking lot with a Halloween store next to a Toys'r'us store. They were virtually the only stores open at three in the morning.

He parked hap-hazardly, taking up three different parking spaces. He hopped out of the car and waited for the others to get out before clicking the lock to the car and heading into the Halloween store. Jasper and Aro followed him quickly while Edward stood there, looking up at the kids store's sign.

Carlisle came over to him and clapped him on the shoulder and inquired, "What are you thinking?" Edward smiled over at Carlisle and shrugged before going into the children's store with Carlisle following curiously behind.

Disregarding everything else, Edward headed straight over to a specific section and started looking for the perfect gift. It took him a few minutes to decide which one would work the best but when he did, he snatched it and held it up to Carlisle for his approval.

All Carlisle could do was chuckle at his younger brother and nod. Edward didn't think like the others when it came to their significant others, he thought like Carlisle did. He had to make sure everything was perfect and thoughtful while still being about him and Bella. It's not that the others didn't care about their significant others, but Emmett would get something shiny for Rose no matter if it looked gaudy; only because she liked shiny, sparkly things, not because it was meant something significant to them.

Having purchased their gifts, Carlisle and Edward meandered over to the Halloween store and looked around while the others tried to find something that would appease their other halves.

Edward laughed loudly when he found the other part of his gift and showed it to Carlisle. "What do you think? Would it work?"

"Absolutely. Everyone deserves a super hero."

Edward bought the other half to his gift and went to sit out in the Hummer with Carlisle while the others took their time going over each and every item. Carlisle watched as Edward pulled out both parts of his gift and started assembling them into what he knew would make Bella smile.

"You did good," Carlisle stated sincerely.

"Thanks," Edward mumbled feeling quite embarrassed at being caught acting and feeling like a little boy again.

The others took about an hour to find what they were looking for. It was a long hour that Edward wasted staring out the back window of the Hummer. Carlisle used the hour going over emails on his phone, all from work. That hour could have been spent at home with their girls, but their brothers couldn't make up their minds.

When everybody was piled into the car again, Emmett sped off, to get back home. Edward couldn't wait. His knee was bobbing up and down as he watched their building getting closer and closer until, finally, he was in the garage waiting for the car to be parked.

Edward was out and to the elevator before the others had even unbuckled their seatbelts. He pressed the up button continuously, trying to get the elevator there faster. He was in a hurry to get back to his girl before she woke up and noticed she was alone. He knew if that happened she would feel abandoned and alone and he wanted anything but that.

"Cool your jets," Emmett bellowed as the others sauntered to him just as the elevator doors finally dinged open. Edward jumped into the box and hit the buttons again. He was fidgety and just wanted to get back to his Bella.

"Damn, you would think you've been gone for a month, not a few hours, Edward," Emmett joked. "Are you sure you didn't leave something unfinished when we left? You know," he asked his brother as he wagged his eyebrow suggestively, "like a little bit of loving, perhaps?"

Edward glowered at Emmett and growled out, "No I didn't. Mind your own damn business Emmett. Lord knows you're going to have to kiss Rose's ass for the next couple of days since you left in the middle of the night."

"All right, all right, all right," Emmett conceded as he raised his hands in a surrendering fashion, "Slow your roll. No need to get pissy."

"I'll show you pissy," Edward retorted as he turned to punch Emmett when the elevator doors dinged open on their bottom floor. Edward shook his head, "Saved by the bell. You're lucky Em."

"Next time, I'll let him clock you one," Jasper added, as he followed Edward out.

The lower level was dark when they pushed inside. Edward flung his jacket off, letting it fall to the floor in the mudroom before he bound to the stairs and took them up to the fourth floor. The elevator would have been too slow in his present state.

Before he could see her, though, Edward convinced himself take a shower so that her bed didn't end up smelling of gunpowder, lead and copper, and sweat. The scalding hot shower was refreshing, but no matter how rejuvenating it was to get the dirt and grime off his body, Edward hurried through it as quickly as he could. He needed to see Bella. He needed to make sure she was all right. He toweled off roughly, rubbing harder than he should have in certain places. He cringed when he realized just how forceful he had been in the area of his balls but would worry about it later; at the moment he had to get to his girl.

Edward's green and blue, plaid flannel lounge pants and white undershirt clung to the parts of his body he missed drying, but he paid it no mind. He flung the used towel into the laundry hamper of his bathroom and rushed out, grabbing his impromptu gift along the way.

Stealthily sneaking across the hall, Edward gently poked his head through the door to see if Bella was up, and smiled to himself when he noticed she was in the exact same spot he left her. She was hunkered down under the white down comforter with it pulled all the way up to her chin, lying on her side, facing the door.

He quietly made his way over to her and gently laid the present near her face. The soft hum and slight smile on her lips caused his own as she reached out and took hold of the gift, pulling it in close to her chest tightly. He sat there on the edge of the bed for a few brief moments, watching her peacefully sleep and while she breathed, the fur of his gift danced beneath her nose, tickling it gently. He brushed her hair back onto the pillow a few times before he got up and walked around to the other side of the bed.

Climbing onto the bed behind her, making sure not to jostle it too much Edward curled up behind her. He covered up with the excess down comforter and scooted even closer to her body before he wrapped his arm around her waist and nuzzled his nose into her sweet scented hair. He took a lungful of the strawberry and felt his eyes close as he relaxed into her.

When his eyes reopened, Edward noticed the sun was higher in the sky, allowing shadows to permeate the room. He yawned and groaned as he stretched out onto his back. He smacked his lips together a few times before he looked down to his small companion.

Bella looked up at him with innocent, wide, brown eyes with a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. Her hair was a mess beneath her and she still had the down comforter pulled up to her chin. Between her chin and the blanket were a few straggly pale yellow hairs in all different directions. She smiled up at him, shyly and he smiled back lazily before turning back towards her.

"Edward?" Bella asked quietly.

"Hmmm?" he asked.

"How did I wind up with a duck dressed as batman?" she whispered back as she pulled the stuffed animal away from her and showed Edward.

He smiled and chuckled as he explained, "Well, I had some work to do earlier and I didn't want you to think I had abandon you or forgotten about you, and I'd never gotten you anything, so I picked up the duck. When Jasper said something about Halloween coming up tomorrow, I couldn't resist dressing him up like Batman…"

Smirking, Bella looked down at the duck and then back at Edward and asked, "Do you always dress up your stuffed animals? Should I be concerned that every holiday you're going to dress all your stuffed animals in clothing that matches?"

Edward scoffed, "Absolutely not. I have no stuffed animals. You on the other hand may be getting more. I haven't decided quite yet."

Bella looked down at her new stuffed animal and smiled. It was a fluffy duckling about the size of her head with two baby wings, a pair of orange feet and a matching orange duckbill. The eyes were centered right over the bill and were beady and blue, but were covered with the fluffy hair the duck was covered in. The black cape with the yellow batman symbol was tied around his neck while a black face mask with bat ears was over the face, with slits for the eyes. She looked back up at Edward and whispered, "Thank you. I've never gotten a stuffed animal before."

"I intend to change all those things. I plan on being your first and only," he whispered back as he pulled her in closer to him.

Bella cocked her eyebrow and told him, "Not too close, I have morning breath…"

"Actually, it's more like afternoon breath. It's one fifteen." Groaning, Bella hid her face in his chest. It was not her intention to sleep that late. "Don't worry, you needed the rest. And I really don't care about morning breath. I have the same thing going on."

"But I thought you said you had to go out earlier, didn't you brush your teeth then?"

"Yeah, but I ate something. So technically, I have morning breath too."

Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, "Semantics."

"I like semantics," Edward whispered, "They let me get away with things that you don't think of. Plus, even if you tell me not to get you something, I can twist it to my liking and still get you something and you wouldn't be able to scold me. Yes, I think I like semantics."

"You sir, are rotten to the core," Bella mumbled as she snuggled closer to his warm body. Edward ran his fingers through her soft locks, gently detangling any knots he ran into along the way.

They laid there snuggled up and relaxed in the warmth they created, not speaking, yet still learning about one another through soft, innocent touches until they finally dozed off again.

Knocking on the door jolted the two awake. Bella groaned at the intrusion into her wonderfully peaceful sleep as Edward called out a hoarse, "Come in."

Esme stuck her head into the room and smiled at the picture of them in the bed together. It wouldn't be long before they couldn't be without one another and she was looking forward to see the love and trust in both of their eyes. It was a beautiful thing when two people trust and love each other infinitely. Esme thought Edward and Bella both deserved to find that in their lives. One look at Edward or Bella when they looked at the other and she could tell, they had found their once in a lifetime.

Smiling at them, Esme asked, "I just wanted to know if you two were hungry. It's almost three and you two haven't been down to eat all day…?"

Bella nodded at her as she yawned, "We'll be down in a couple of minutes. Thank you."

"Any time, Sweetie."

When the door closed, Edward flopped back on the bed and groaned, "Do I really have to get up? I'm too tired to move…"

Bella giggled, carefree, and told him, "Yes you do otherwise you won't want to sleep tonight. We've already wasted enough time in here not doing much of anything. I think we need to go socialize a bit."

"Why?" Edward whined as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer to him to snuggle and go back to sleep.

"Oh no," Bella scolded, "Time to get up. I have to eat and go talk to your father for a minute then I'll come find you. In the meantime, you need to find something to hold your interest."

Edward grunted loudly as he flung the covers off himself, resigned to having to get up and actually interact with his family for a little while. "Fine. But I don't have to like it," Edward argued.

"No one said you had to," Bella agreed with a nod of her head as she walked into her bathroom with her clothes for the rest of the day, leaving Edward to his own devices.

Bella's mid afternoon snack was a small one, only an apple each with a little bit of peanut butter. She didn't want to spoil her dinner, after all. Once she was done eating and clearing her plate, Bella made it up to the seventh floor and to Edward Senior's office.

The knock on his closed office door caused him to bark out a, "come!" without looking up to see who had entered. The day had started off badly and had only gotten worse. He didn't have the time or patience to deal with his overly ambitious, unthinking underlings.

Poking her head into the office, she bit her bottom lip nervously and inquired, "Um…Sir?"

Edward Senior's head popped in surprise, taking his attention away up from the file he had been reading. His features softened as he motioned her further into the office. "Yeah, kid, come on in. How are you feeling this afternoon?"

Bella shrugged as she slipped into the office and shut the door behind her before taking her seat at his desk. "I guess I'm okay… Edward helped me get through last night," she whispered shyly; sadly.

He nodded at her. "That's good. It'll take a while and there will probably always be triggers, but as long as you're working through things with someone you can trust, you'll start to realize there's nothing to be afraid of around us. It will take a while to get there, though. There will be setbacks and you'll be discouraged sometimes, but you can't give up. And I know it's not in you to give up, otherwise you would have done that long ago."

Still unsure of how to act in front of the man, Bella nodded while biting her lower lip again and told him, "I'll try to remember that, sir."

"Good. Now, what can I help you with today?"

"Well, when I calmed down yesterday, I got to thinking-"

"That's always a dangerous thing to do," Edward Senior said with a straight face. They sat staring at one another for a long moment while Bella tried to determine if he was being serious or just messing with her. Finally his lips turned up on the sides and Bella released a relieved breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I try and limit my brilliant ideas to one or two a day, otherwise I'd be running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything done." He smiled at her and made a hand motion for her to continue.

"Um… Once I calmed down, Edward mentioned something about the detective-"

"Detective Jacob Black. He's been after Edward and as a result, this family since he started on the force a few years ago."

"Well, Edward said that he had the warrant for the apartment to gather evidence on a kidnapping and murder?"

"It was actually two, but go on, what's your question?"

"How did they get the evidence to get a warrant so quickly? And how is it possible to get a warrant so quickly? It's not possible…" The slight pull of Edward Senior's lips caught Bella off guard as she stopped talking, not sure what was going on. "What?" she asked completely confused.

Shaking his head, Edward Senior looked at her and in complete honesty, told her, "Edward chose well with you. So inquisitive and smart. Willing to ask questions to find the answer. You're going to do well with him. You're questions are good ones. Our lawyer is working on the legal aspects of everything, trying to get it thrown out of court, because I know for a fact, my boys don't leave any evidence. A thank you goes to you, I'm told." Blushing a bright crimson all the way down her neck, Bella ducked her head and shrugged like it was no big deal.

Edward Senior shook his head at her modesty and leaned closer to her from across his desk and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Personally, I believe they knew they were never going to get in here without a real warrant and fabricated one with a fake witness. They arrested you, Emmett and Edward to get you out of here so they could plant the bugs and video surveillance without us knowing, but since there was nothing to actually hold the three of you on, Mr. Banks had you all free by sundown. It's a good thing Emmett knows his electronics and we caught on when we did; otherwise it could have been disastrous to this family and the organization. I'm not sure if they have a warrant for the video and audio surveillances. Mr. Banks is looking into that right now."

"Bugs? Video surveillance?" Bella choked out, clearly remembering all that she told Edward last night in her room. She had felt safe enough to be vulnerable in his presence but only now found out that it was caught on tape somewhere, and that the entire Chicago police department could potentially watch it. It made her feel exposed and vulnerable again without her consent. She didn't like the way it felt when the choice was out of her hands.

"I sent our men up to your room to clear it after you finally passed out. I know that's awfully rude of me, just letting them barge into your personal space, but it needed to be done. Edward didn't leave your side once while they were there."

Bella looked at Edward Senior again and asked, "But if they fabricated evidence and a witness to get the warrant, it's inadmissible in court. Everything after that point is fruit of the poisonous tree. None of it would be able to be shown in court because they broke our Fourth Amendment rights and, if you want to stretch it, our Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination… There was no probable cause so they shouldn't have been able to get the warrant in the first place."

Edward Senior laughed heartily, throwing his head back in a real, belly busting laugh he seldom had anymore. As he managed to control himself, he watched Bella with an amused twinkle in his eyes before he asked, "Are you sure you don't want to be a lawyer? I think you could be a very good one. And bending the rules to fit your needs is exactly the kind of out of the box thinking we need. I need to remind Mr. Banks about that, although I'm sure he knows."

"Are all of them gone?" Bella asked, worried about if she was going to accidentally spill secrets if she spoke candidly to the members of the family in their own home.

Nodding, Edward Senior let her know everything was safe again, "Yeah, all the devices have been dealt with accordingly. You can speak freely while here."

Bella's tension released and she smiled at him, "Ok… Thank you… I'll leave you to your work now…"

"Any time kid. Just knock whenever you need to talk and I'll lend you an ear."

Bella smirked and snarked back, "As long as they stay attached to your head, I have no qualms."

Edward Senior laughed boisterously as Bella stood and left his office, shutting the door behind her. She quietly made her way down to the fourth level of the library and spotted Edward sitting on the couch, the same couch on which they had been peacefully trying to read the day before, and smiled.

Noticing her arrival, Edward smiled and sat up so that she could sit next to him. He had a couple of presents for her and really wanted to give them to her. When he patted the spot next to him, she took the invitation and sat down, but apparently she wasn't close enough for his liking because he pulled her in closer to his side.

"Hey you," he whispered against her ear, his breath tickling her skin.

"Hi," she whispered back bashfully.

"Are you feeling better today?" She nodded as she leaned her head against his shoulder, looking down at the book he held in his lap.

"That's good to hear," he mumbled against the top of her head as he laid his cheek against the crown of her head. He gently ran his fingers down her smooth, strawberry scented hair and said, "I have a few of surprises for you."

"You do?" Bella asked pulling back and looking him in the eyes, unsure of whether she should be happy about them or upset. "I'm not sure I like surprises…"

"These are good. I promise," Edward chuckled as he reached into his back pants pocket and pulled out a black lump. Bella craned her head, trying to get a better look at it when Edward asked, "Are you really that curious?" Bella nodded, still trying to move to get a better glimpse.

Finally, Edward opened his hand and revealed a small, black, sleek smart phone. It was about the size of his palm and flat with tiny little buttons. He held it out to her, for her to take but she just stared at it questioningly.

"Well, take it," Edward joked as he held it further out for her, "It's your new phone. I want to always be able to get a hold of you and vice versa."

Her eyes snapped up to his and she quietly choked out, "For me?"

He nodded and held it out further to her, urging Bella to take it from him. "I can show you how to work it, but I want to give you your other surprises first, okay?"

"O…Kay…" Bella replied skeptically, not quite sure what he was planning to do. She trusted him, yet wasn't quite sure if she was going to like the other surprises he had in store for her. Surprises always made her sketchy and twitchy because Phil would sometimes tell her he had a surprise for her, and then beat her with whatever instrument was within reach. She wasn't comfortable with Edward's choice of words, but made no attempt to correct him and waited for him to continue.

Edward pulled something else black out of his back pocket and handed it to her. "This is yours to spend on whatever you wish."

The black credit card in her hand suddenly felt heavy. She looked from the card up to Edward and shook her head frantically. "No. No, I don't want it. I don't need it. I'm never going to use it." She tried to give it back to Edward, but he wouldn't have it.

"All right. Then think of it as an emergency backup plan, just in case. All right? You don't have to use it unless you absolutely need to. However, I would like you to keep it with you when you go out, just in case. Would that be a fair trade?"

She nodded. The face she made down at the card was one of pure disgust. Edward reached up and tucked a patch of hair behind her ear and smiled cheekily at her. "You really dislike shopping that much?"

"Absolutely. There are too many people, too much noise, the air is all stuffy, not enough parking, it hurts my feet, I get a headache half the time because of everything and to top it all off, the air is stale. I don't like shopping if I can help it."

"I'm the same way," Edward confessed quietly.

"But it's not only that," Bella confessed. "When I turn eighteen I'm inheriting the money and everything from my family. There's a lot there. I have my own money to spend; I don't want to spend yours if I have my own."

"Bella, love, you won't get that until you're eighteen, that's another eleven months away. Even then that money is for you in case something ever happens to us and we can't take care of you for a while. Besides, we're married. I want to spend some money on my wife, spoil her a little when I can. You should let me. It makes me happy… Haven't we already had this conversation before?"

Bella nodded and looked at the offending card in her hand, not noticing Edward reaching into his back pocket one last time. She only looked up when Edward moved from the couch to kneeling in front of her with a small, black velvet box in his hands. She swallowed thickly when she realized what that box actually meant.

"I know we're already married legally, but," Edward started and looked down at the box, too nervous to keep going. He took a deep breath to calm himself and started again, "I know we're already married, but you didn't get a choice in the matter before. I was just wondering if…maybe…you could ever love me enough to want to be my wife? It takes two people to be in a marriage," he rambled, "I want to be one of them, but only if you're the other… You'd make me the luckiest man alive if you could find it in yourself to say yes."

Frozen. Unmoving. Completely still. Bella sat there motionless looking at the box in his slender, pale fingers. She didn't know what to do or what to say.

Each moment Bella was silent was one more second Edward felt his heart rip. The longer she sat there, silent, the more he felt like a fool for asking. _She obviously didn't want to be married to him in the first place, why was he putting himself through this?_ Hope is a dangerous word; a word he never allowed himself to feel before. Now that he had brought it in, he was feeling the bitterness that accompanied it.

Bella looked him over and saw his falling self esteem and whispered out, "I heard a quote once. I don't remember what the context was or where, but it said, 'If you're going to fall in love with me, it's only fair that you know what you are falling in love with." Bella reached up and brushed some hair off his forehead gently and continued, "You are falling in love with my insecurities, and my obsession with trying to figure out what everyone thinks of me. You are falling in love with my immaturity, my constant need to feel loved, protected and appreciated, my sometimes overactive tear ducts, my book obsession, my tendency to be too clingy. You are falling in love with my troubled past, and my hopes and dreams, and how I'm secretly a hopeless romantic at heart. If you fall in love with me, you fall in love with my self-hate and all my imperfections and my perception that nobody could ever love me."

She cupped his cheeks as they looked into each other's eyes and she continued just as quietly as she began. "But you are also falling in love with the way my eyes will smile when I'm with you, the way I'll text you in the mornings just telling you I hope you have a great day with whatever you're doing. You're falling in love with the occasionally humorous and/or thought- provoking things I say, and the way I blush when people ask me about you. But to me, the most important thing will be that you are falling in love with me, despite my thinking that it is impossible." Bella paused as she ran her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp, causing a low rumbling in his chest. "If you think you can fall in love with me, despite all that, then yes… I will marry you…again… But if you can't, please don't lead me on and break my heart somewhere down the road. I don't think I could survive that."

The crooked smile he reserved only for her spread across his lips in full force. "I think I can manage that, as long as you can tolerate my quirks as well."

Her smiled warmed his heart. "Then yes. I will marry you again."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I got the second half done but the first half wouldn't come to me no matter what I did. I re wrote it three different times just to get it working remotely with the rest of the chapter. The characters wouldn't talk to me. It's their entire fault I tell you. Blame them.**

**Did you know it's easier to write the fluffy stuff than the nitty gritty stuff, even though I've never had a crush (besides RP and PF), been in love, let alone lust and I'm a criminal Justice major? How backwards is that?**

**There was some confusion about Emmett, Edward and Bella being arrested last chapter. I want to clarify a bit by saying, they weren't really under arrest. It was a forged warrant with a fake witness and Black knew that. That's why he didn't let Emmett read it before he snatched it away. They were not processed, printed or Mirandized, just taken for interrogation. Black isn't playing by the rules and that'll probably come back to bite him in the ass. I don't know quite yet how it's going to play out, I'm still righting it for heaven's sake. Hopefully you'll understand why in a few chapters why black is the way he is.**

**I feel like being generous right now, so I'm going to tell you what I predict will be in the next chapter as long as the characters are willing to go along with me. Think Thanksgiving with some visitors. I'm already half way through with it so you may be getting the next chapter before the end of the month…if you're all good and leave a review.**

**As usual, thank you to all who have reviewed. They make me happy and the happier I am, the quicker I write. Leave a review if you'd like. Questions are wonderful along with predictions of where I might take this story or what's going to happen. (To tell you a secret, I don't even know, so you're suggestions might actually help with chapters down the line.) Constructive criticism is most welcome but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one.**

**Big thanks to TwiSNFan for being my Beta and putting up with me. She deserves a gold medal!**


	8. Chapter 8

***A/N: I do not and never will own Twilight***

**This one's going to be a long one since a few of you (some in PM's and some in Reviews) asked for a longer chapter and inspiration gripped me tightly this time around. That's what took so long, even though I had most of it written before posting chapter 7.**

**Since y'all don't want to read these, I'll see y'all below. Have fun and I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>The weeks went by. Some days passed quickly, others seemed to drag on forever, but they all passed. Halloween was spent on the couch in Bella's room watching scary movies as Edward encouraged her to hold onto him if she got scared at all. She had clung to him most of the night as she watched the movies through her fingers, terrified. And Edward was more than happy to hold her tight when they finally headed to bed. The others had gone out to their usual Halloween parties, leaving Edward and Bella free to spend time alone together, further strengthening their relationship. Edward didn't mind staying at home for Halloween for the first time in many years, just relaxing rather than going out to a club dressed in some ridiculous costume that Alice concocted, only to get drunk.<p>

Just a few short days prior to Thanksgiving, Bella learned the truth of the Cullen traditions. Other than those on the security team that didn't have family, the staff always got the major holidays off while the women in the house bonded over the cooking and the men either watched football in the family room or talked shop.

Knowing that one day of preparation wouldn't be enough, Bella started baking some of the pies two days prior, planning to cook only what was necessary on the day. But, of course, once Bella started baking, she didn't stop. She finished two pecan pies, two apple pies, two pumpkin pies, two cherry pies, two grasshopper pies, three cheesecakes and a couple of caramel and candied apples all before midnight the day before thanksgiving. Bella was a force of nature once she started baking; solely focused on what was right in front of her without giving a second thought to the world around her. She only went to bed when Edward came in and dragged her from the kitchen, telling her everything would be all right.

Edward coaxed her into having a shower to wash the flour off her that was dusting her hair and was smeared over her face in different spots. When she emerged, scrubbed clean and smelling sweetly, in her purple pajama lounge pants and black batman shirt, Edward smirked as he pulled the comforter down.

Bella snuggled deep under the blanket and waited for Edward to curl up behind her and pull her close to his chest before she relaxed fully. He pressed his nose to her damp hair and breathed in her scent as she flung the covers over the both of them and settled down for the night.

Early the next morning Bella was back at it. This time she was making all sorts of different flavored truffles, and with whatever left over chocolate, some homemade peppermint bark. She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she didn't notice Edward hop up on the counter nearby and silently watch her work.

He watched the way she moved around the kitchen with no hesitation, like she had lived there all her life and spent great amounts of time in the room. Edward watched the way her hips swayed while she walked, how her neck looked when she cocked her head to get a better angle of something, how her hair framed her tiny body and how her behind looked when she bent to get something out of the lower oven. He had never seen anyone look more amazing than she did when she was in her element. He felt oddly proud that she had found something she was good at and enjoyed, and when she was happy, he was happy as well.

Bella was the master of the kitchen, subconsciously commanding an understated presence that nobody could overlook. She moved fluidly with poise and grace she didn't know she possessed. She moved lithely around the room, moving boxes, adding ingredients into batters, and tasting mixtures. It took her hours to get the truffles all assembled and put in storage boxes in the fridge for the next day and even longer to clean the mess she had made in the kitchen.

When she turned to leave, she finally saw Edward, sitting there, watching her, and jumped as she gasped loudly and slapped her hand over her heart. "Oh! Jeeze! You scared me, Edward!"

"Sorry," he muttered, clearly amused as he jumped off the counter and strolled over to her.

She watched him move and narrowed her eyes when she stopped before her. "How long have you been in here?"

Shrugging, he revealed, "Long enough to know Emmett's going to get his fill of desserts tomorrow night."

"Do you think he'll like them?" Bella asked nervously as she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth.

Edward reached up and pulled her battered lip from her teeth and smiled gently at her to calm her nerves, "He likes anything and everything. Yes. I think he'll love your desserts." Bella nodded, trusting that Edward was right. "What do you say we go up to your room for a while and just relax? I know you need it. You're going to be doing too much tomorrow. You take too much on just to please other people…"

"I can't help it," Bella argued weakly.

Grabbing her up tightly in his arms, Edward replied, "I know. It's just your nature. You like to help people, but I don't like it when you run yourself ragged and that's what you're doing. You need to remember to take care of yourself too otherwise you'll get sick and I don't want to see you like that. Can you take a breather for me?"

Bella nodded into his chest and he smiled against her hair. "Good. Let's go relax. Just watching you run around all morning has worn me out."

Looking up at him, Bella frowned, "How are you tired? You didn't do anything!"

"Exactly, you wore me out just trying to keep up with what you're doing and I was just sitting there watching. Now, come on my little trooper, we need to go relax. This weekend is going to be hectic."

Bella let Edward drag her up to her room without a fuss. She knew she was attempting too much, but she just wanted to make it all perfect. This was the first time she was really going to meet Edward's mother and his eldest sister-in-law and she needed everything to be absolutely perfect.

Edward eased her down on the couch near the window and grabbed her current book from the nightstand. He passed it over to her and told her, "I need to deal with something in my room and then I'll be right back, I won't be long, I promise, Little Love."

Bella nodded and watched him leave her room, shutting the door behind him. She hunkered down into the couch and pulled a small blanket over her legs as she became engrossed in her new classic of fairytale romances and happily ever afters.

She had read almost a page and a half when Bella heard her bedroom door open. She looked up, assuming it was Edward returning, but stared in shock when a blonde haired beauty waltzed into the room.

The strangely beautiful woman looked around the room as she dropped her large designer bag on the bed and unwrapped the scarf from her neck. Her face distorted in disgust before her ice blue eyes landed on Bella. The woman looked around the room and scoffed before she told her, "the least you can do is get off your ass and clean my room. It's what they're paying you for, not to sit around and read all day long."

Bella didn't move. _Who was this woman and why did she call the room her own?_ She just sat there on the couch staring at this woman, not sure what to think of her. This was Bella's room and she didn't know what was going on.

The woman went over to the nightstand and picked up a trinket, which she and Edward had bought when they were out shopping that first day, and scoffed again before putting it back down. She looked over at Bella again and noticed that she hadn't moved to comply with her demands. She cocked her eyebrow at the meek looking girl and swiveled her head slightly as she laid her hands on her hips. "Well? Are you going to get up and start cleaning? This room should have been cleaned hours ago for my arrival. Don't make me go tell Edward Senior you're slacking in your duties. He's not a pleasant man and will skin your hide…"

"Who are you?" Bella finally asked. The woman had to be out of her mind, bossing Bella around like that. Besides, the room wasn't even that cluttered. Granted there were a few things out of place, but it wasn't messy.

The woman stared at Bella for a while with her hands still on her hips before she finally answered, "Tanya Denali. Now get up and clean my room. I want it spotless within the hour! I can't believe you. The Cullen's are paying you to work and what are you doing? You're sitting on your fat ass, reading," she reprimanded.

Bella was saved by the door opening again. Edward walked in looking at two shirts in his hands and asked, "do you like the blue one or the green one better?" Opening her mouth to respond, Bella was interrupted by a shrill squeal. Edward's head snapped up and he looked both pale and nauseous at the sight of this Tanya woman.

Edward didn't have time to speak as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, holding him in a tight grip as she continued to squeal in his ear. He stood there, stock-still, unable to move as he looked past the blonde woman to Bella, staring her in the eyes. All Bella could do was stare back into his.

"Eddie! I'm here!" the growth that had attached herself to Edward's front squealed loudly again. Edward flinched from the pitch as Bella's brow rose in amusement and confusion. He tried to peal the girl off him, but she wouldn't cease and desist and just gripped him tighter.

Not knowing what to do, Edward stood there until Tanya stood up in front of him of her own accord, not taking her arms away from around his neck. She smiled up at him brightly, as she said, "Eddie! My little Snookiebear! Surprise! We weren't going to come this year for Thanksgiving, but we decided last minute to board a plane and head west. Aren't you just so happy to see me? Aaa! We have four days together! Aren't you so excited!" she squeed at him. "We can go shopping on Friday and go out to dinner Saturday night. Oh, I know you want to go to the Ritz. We can go there for dinner. And then brunch with my friends the next day, you know I need to catch up with them…"

The room was silent as Tanya looked at Edward expectantly. Edward tried ignoring her and watched Bella with nervous eyes and Bella ducked her head, allowing her loose hair to fan over her face like a curtain, hiding her blush from him.

"Pookie?" Tanya asked as she followed Edward's gaze and noticed Bella again. She looked back at Edward and rolled her eyes as she let him go and told him, "Your father really needs to employ better help. She can see this room is a pigsty and she's just sitting there with a book in her hand like she doesn't understand a word I'm saying to her. And where did all this crappy shit come from? You know I hate anything that isn't designer. If you knew I was coming, why didn't you get me a coach purse and a pair of Louis Vuittons instead of all this? I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with a stuffed animal? I mean, really?"

Bella's eyes narrowed as she listened to this woman, disliking her more and more with each word she uttered. _Nobody talks ill of her Batman duck! Nobody!_

Seeing Bella's expression, Edward turned to Tanya and told her, "Actually, this isn't the room you'll be staying in while you're here this time."

Tanya smiled brighter, misinterpreting his meaning, "Oh! You're finally moving me into your room! Oh! I can leave my stuff here if it won't fit in my suitcases on the way back to New York. So when we come back for Christmas, I don't have that much to move in! I love the way you think, Pookie!"

"No," Edward replied sternly as he looked straight at her, ensuring she couldn't misread him. "You'll be two floors up across the hall from Aro and Sculpicia."

Tanya stepped back like Edward had just physically struck her. She had a bewildered and confused look on her face as she asked, "What? What are you talking about? Did you move your room up there and didn't tell me?"

"No. My room's exactly where it's always been."

"Then why are you making me sleep in a room two floors up? Are you going to visit me in the middle of the night?" she asked coyly as she batted her lashes flirtatiously at him, trying to be sexy. She just looked like an idiot to both Edward and Bella.

Shaking his head, Edward told her, "I won't be visiting you during the night, no."

"Then why do I have to move up there? This has always been my room. This is the closest one to yours. Why can't I stay in it now?" She pouted, trying to look cute as she did so. She thought wide eyes and a protruding lower lip were going to sway Edward, but she didn't know that her act did nothing to Edward like she always believed. Edward only had eyes for Bella- which was why she was in the room across the hall from his and not Tanya.

"Because this room is occupied at the moment. Unless you want to share a floor with your brother and sister-in-law, the next open floor is the sixth. And I know how you and your family prefer not to share floors if at all possible."

"Who is supposedly occupying this room?" Tanya asked, becoming angry. If she had to, she going to murder whomever it was that was forcing her away from her Pookie. With the intimidation tactics Tanya planned to employ, the would-be murder victim would be out of the room by the end of the day.

"Tanya, I'd like you to meet Bella. Bella, this is Tanya," Edward officially introduced the two of them.

Bella didn't move while Tanya looked at her and narrowed her eyes threateningly, surveying the Plain Jane sitting on the couch she had occupied many times before. Bella just watched Tanya, not intimidated by her at all.

Looking back at Edward, Tanya asked, "She's the one using this room?"

"Yep," Edward responded smugly.

Scoffing, Tanya demanded of him, "Well, she's just the help. Move her to another level so I can have my room back and be closer to my Pookie-Wookie." She tried to run her hand up Edward's chest but he side stepped her ministrations.

Edward's stare turned icy as he looked at Tanya and told her, "She's not the help and she's not moving. You are. You can either have the first floor or the sixth, the choice is yours but make up your mind quickly and get out of the room."

Tanya pouted at Edward sadly and told him, "But, Eddie, my little Snookiebear, I want to be closer to you. Surely the border you took in can move rooms for me while I'm here," she tried to weasel and looked over at Bella with a 'you're going to do what I say or I'll lay you out flat' look.

Looking Tanya straight in the eye, Bella smiled a sickly sweet, fake smile and told her flat out, "No." She turned back to her book and started reading again, completely disregarding Her Royal Highness.

"No?" Tanya retorted, sounding angry. "You dare to tell me no? Listen, you little pipsqueak, you're going to get your shit out of this room in the next hour!" she was all but yelling now and her face was turning a bright red at the audacity this little, mousy girl who had the nerve to say 'no' to Tanya.

Bella looked back up at Tanya, looked her straight in the eyes and repeated herself firmly. "No."

Tanya's eyes narrowed even further as she argued with Bella. "Yes you will; even if I have to force you by dragging you out by your hair."

Shaking her head, Bella just watched Tanya. She was a beautiful devil who thought the world revolved around her and everyone should bow down to her. Bella wasn't about to. She had been doing what others told her most her life. She recognized this ire Tanya had and knew how she was going to lash out next. She had seen it almost every night with her aunt. Bella wasn't about to just sit and take it this time. Edward would back her up if the need came.

"What don't you get lady?" Bella finally asked calmly, "No. The N? The O? Or the space between? I'm not vacating my room for you. You don't like it? Tough shit. Go pout and whine to someone who actually gives a damn. Sorry, but my give-a-damn's busted."

If it had been an old cartoon, there would have been steam coming out of Tanya's ears. She looked royally pissed. Bella ignored the vile woman and turned back to her book. Tanya turned to Edward to make him do something, but he ignored her and went to sit next to Bella on the couch. He leaned his head back against the back and closed his eyes to relax.

When Tanya realized she wouldn't be getting any more attention from Edward, she stomped her foot like a child, crossed her arms over her chest and made the strangest noise, - screaming a grunt. It was odd to Bella; she had never heard anything like it. She managed to hold her amusement though until Tanya had grabbed at her scarf and bag and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her on her way out. The giggles escaped as she tried to keep reading, but it was all too much.

Amused, Edward opened one eye and looked over at Bella. She was adorable when she giggled. He smiled and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Tanya, the Terrible Two-year-old Toddler," Bella giggled again.

Edward smiled wider at her antics and asked, "You thought she was funny?"

"Only because she was so pathetic. Is she always like that?"

"Yep. The entire world apparently revolves around her and all people should bow down to her mighty royal ass."

"Huh," Bella mused, "I guess I didn't get that memo." Edward chuckled as he leaned in and kissed Bella's hair. She looked up at Edward and asked, "How long will she be here?"

"Probably until Sunday. I didn't know they were coming this year. Father told them not to since we wanted to make sure you had a low key holiday, it being your first major one here. Apparently they didn't listen too well and came anyway. Father's going to have a shit fit of epic proportions. I can see it now."

"I like my bat duck, just so you know. I'd rather have a stuffed animal over designer labels any day of the week."

Pulling her closer to him, Edward nodded against her hair and quietly replied, "I know you would. You don't want the money. You don't want the name. You don't want to be spoiled. But that makes you all the more deserving. Don't let her get you down this week. She's nothing but a spoiled brat that is used to getting her way. Don't let her talk down to you or push you around, because I know that's what she's going to do. You've already taken something she wanted and didn't let up when she intimidated you. She's going to try harder this weekend."

"I'll try not to."

Edward picked up her left hand and, seeing it bare, looked up into her eyes and asked, "Where's your ring?"

Bella pulled at a chain around her neck and showed him the gorgeous ring he had given her. "I wanted to wear it close, but I didn't want to flaunt it until you had a chance to talk with your mother. You said she didn't know we were married already. I don't want to just spring it on her out of left field."

"I'm sorry. I should have told her the minute Father told me."

Bella shrugged and smiled a shy little smile up at him before whispering, "I kind of like it. It feels forbidden or something. It's kind of exciting." Edward shook his head, clearly amused and awed by the woman in his arms. "I think we should wait until after the holidays die down to tell her. It's not like there's not enough stress on her already."

Edward eyed her skeptically, "Are you sure? I don't want Tanya thinking…"

Interrupting him, Bella told him, "I don't care what she thinks. Let her think whatever she wants to. You're mine. I'm yours. She can't do or say anything that can tear us apart. I have faith in that. You need to, too. Besides," she smiled cheekily and continued, "if she runs to your father to complain about anything, he won't do much. He loves me."

Edward laughed loudly, clearly not expecting that. "Yes, Little Love. You are very loveable."

Bella's answering smile lit up the room. She patted his knee and as she got off the couch said, "Come on, I have to finish up with some of the food for tomorrow."

"I can watch?" Edward asked excitedly.

"I'll even let you lick the spoon if you want," Bella joked back.

Bella and Edward spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, prepping some of the food that would be served the next day. The dishes would have taken too long to prepare on the day and she wanted to be able to spend some time relaxing with Edward on the holiday.

When they fell into Bella's bed that night, they were exhausted and were asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows, dreaming of all the scrumptious food they would consume the next day, without a care in the world.

The following morning Bella was shaken awake by Edward when the alarm went off. He slapped the off button and slowly woke up. The only reason Bella set the alarm- the first time since she bought it- was because she needed to get up to prep- are everything and get it cooked in time for it to be out on the table by two o'clock.

Bella hopped out of bed and took a quick shower, finding Edward still curled up in her bed when she returned. She quickly went over to him and sat down next to him on the bed as she towel dried her hair. His arms shot out and encircled her waist, pulling her body closer to him as he continued to lie there. He pressed his face into her clothed stomach and breathed in the strawberry and distinctly feminine scent and groaned, "come back to bed. It's too early and it's too cold in here without you to snuggle against."

Running her fingers through his soft locks, Bella asked, "then what would you and your family eat later on today?"

"Screw my family. Stay here with me. Let's hide from the world."

"I don't think so." Bella was asking herself how she was going to get Edward to let her go when she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I'm making some family recipes today that I think you'll like."

"Like what?" Edward asked sounding intrigued.

"I was planning on making some of my dad's secret recipe Chinese Chicken salad, my mom's Jell-o salad, some artichoke dip, a Tuscan salad, and some jalapeno poppers with some dip. But you'll have to get out of bed if you want some of those because I won't bring it in here for you to eat. You need to socialize with your family today. That's what the holidays are all about."

Edward groaned again, burying his face in Bella's stomach as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. He moaned loudly and sounded like he had started purring when she gently scratched his scalp. Bella couldn't hold in the giggle at the thought of him purring like a little kitten. Smiling against her, Edward nuzzled his nose further into her stomach and pulled her closer to him.

They sat like that quietly for a few more minutes before Bella gently scratched his scalp again, signaling she needed to get up. He reluctantly loosened his grip on her and flopped onto his back, away from her.

"Go back to sleep for a while. You don't need to be up for another three hours. Then you have a day filled with manly bonding time while we girls cook."

"Try not to take Tanya's head off with a meat cleaver. Her family might frown at that," he mumbled sleepily.

"I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do," she whispered as she bent closer to him and gently kissed his forehead before leaving the room quietly, locking and shutting the door behind her so unwanted and unwelcome guests couldn't sneak in. Bella didn't put it past Tanya to try.

As Bella kissed his forehead, Edward's heartbeat, pulse and breathing all simultaneously picked up. It was the first time since they met that she had kissed him and not the other way around. It was a groundbreaking moment in his life. She had willingly kissed him. Granted it was only on his forehead, but it was another step forward in their relationship. She had felt safe enough to place that gentle kiss on his forehead and not worry about the consequences of what might happen. He couldn't get the slap happy grin off his face and he sure as hell wasn't going to get back to sleep after that. There was no way he would be able to put that to the back of his mind to get a few more hours of sleep.

Falling into the kitchen, Bella managed to right herself at the last moment before she looked up and saw Esme and Alice standing there. They smiled at her before they each got back to work. Alice slipped the Honey Baked Ham into one of the ovens before turning back to grab what looked like a gigantic mound of meat.

Bella tilted her head slightly as Alice slipped that into another preheated over and asked, "Was that a tur-duc-ken?"

Alice spun around with wide eyes and excitedly asked, "how do you know about tur-duc-ken?"

Shrugging self consciously, Bella mumbled, "my dad bought it to try for Christmas the year before he died."

"Was it good?" She asked, completely ignoring the uneasiness Bella was showing.

Bella was thankful Alice didn't push her about her family dynamics. She hadn't really told Edward much about them yet, and she wasn't sure how the others would react when they found out. She wanted to keep that far down the road; she feared they may not react well.

Nodding, Bella told her, "yeah, it tastes just like the animals with a touch of Cajun spice. I thought it was good, but that was so many years ago…"

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked as she stepped into the kitchen in all her perfect glory. She smiled at the three of them and immediately detoured towards one of the refrigerators to get the fruits, vegetables and dips she had prepared the night before.

"Tur-duc-ken," Alice replied excitedly.

"What's that?" Rose asked, scrunching up her nose as if she smelled something foul in the air.

"It's a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, all seasoned with a little bit of Cajun spices. Bella's had one before and said it was good! I can't wait to try it now!" Alice bounced around the kitchen trying to prepare her appetizer dish.

Rose pulled out a couple of serving platters and started plating everything to put out on the table for appetizers while Bella started working on her own. It wasn't long before the warm appetizers were being plated and taken out to the breakfast nook for a buffet style munching session.

The men liked the way the apartment was set up on days like this. Since the layout was just a gigantic circle with an open, airy layout. The family room and the breakfast nook overlapping, they could go get food and still be able to watch the football game when it was on. They wouldn't miss a moment of the action to feed themselves.

As the delicious aromas started traveling through the lower levels of the apartment, people slowly started to wake and come down to feed their growling stomachs. Edward was the first one down, looking clean shaven, freshly washed and pressed in fancier clothes than he would normally wear around the house. The higher level occupants, floors five and six, were the last to come down when their alarm clocks woke them.

He snuck into the kitchen unnoticed by the girls, and found Bella sprinkling cheese over her artichoke dip to put in the oven. Edward's arms snaked around her waist causing her to jump and look up at him. He smiled sheepishly down at her before resting his chin on her shoulder and looking over to see what she was doing.

"Hi," he breathed quietly in her ear.

"Hey," Bella whispered back as she placed one of her hands over his on her stomach and continued to sprinkle the cheese with her other. "What are you doing in here? You know when Rose and Esme catch you they'll skin your hide. It's supposed to be girls only in the kitchen today…until dinner's done. Then you guys get to come and clean the dishes." Edward turned his face into her neck and hummed quietly against her fresh smelling skin. Bella's smile tugged at the edge of her lips as she felt him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I can't get enough of your scent. Strawberries and fresh and all woman. I've never smelled anything better than you."

Starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, Bella adjusted her footing a little and pulled her hand away from his to work with the cheese again. She didn't like all the attention he was giving to her. It made her self-conscious and she was in no way used to it. It was a foreign concept to her, why anyone would pay any attention to her. She was trying to wrap her head around it all, while Edward was trying to get her accustomed to affection. He knew she should have had it all her life and if her parents had lived, they would have given it to her. But her aunt and uncle made her very nervous to be the recipient of any kind of affection.

Realizing she was mentally pulling away from him again, he sighed against her neck and quietly asked, "What have they done to you, Little Love? You deserved so much more than they gave." He kissed her gently behind her ear causing her to shiver before quietly telling her, "I wish you could see how much more you deserve. You deserve to be happy." He kissed right behind her ear again just as Rose caught him in the room.

"Hey! Get out! You know better, Edward! Out! You can come in when you're cleaning the dishes after dinner with the others. Now out!"

Edward chuckled at Rose's outburst as he kissed Bella behind her ear one last time, causing her to shiver again and then blush bright red, before he backed away with his hands up in a surrendering motion. He left quickly, leaving Bella with the three other women.

They stared at Bella so long she became uncomfortable and blushed again and turned back to her food. She quickly put it in a free oven and went about her business making the Tuscan salad, trying to ignore the stares she was getting.

As Bella was breaking apart the black olives to sprinkle in the Tuscan pasta salad she was making, an older woman with light brown hair and another, younger woman with platinum blonde hair walked in. The older woman smiled at Esme and went to sit on the counter near her. She didn't offer to help make anything; she just grabbed a bottle of white wine and poured herself a hefty glass full. The younger one stepped off to the side and poured herself a large glass of red wine as she looked at all the food around the room, but just like the first, didn't offer to help at all.

Rosalie was putting the little marshmallows on her candied yams to put in the oven when the older woman asked Esme, "So how is everyone? I heard through the grapevine the Volturi's are trying to push us Cullen's out of business."

Bella's brows furrowed. _But Tanya said her last name was Denali. They couldn't be Cullen's and Denali's could they?_ She quickly poured the Italian dressing over the pasta salad, mixed it thorough and slipped it into one of the free refrigerators so the pasta could soak up the flavor.

"Everybody's fine," Esme told her before her eyes darkened and she reprimanded the woman, "As for the Volturi, I neither want to know about them nor care to know about them. My husband's job is of no importance to me. I only care that he will come home to me every night, unscathed. If that happens, I have no need to know about the finer details of his day."

The woman didn't even let the reprimand faze her. She just shrugged and took another sip of her wine as she looked over at Rose. "So, tell me Rose, how are things going with you and Emmett?"

Rose turned her glare towards the woman and icily spat back, "I did not give you the right to call me Rose. It's either Rosalie to you, or nothing at all. Remember that."

"Well, excuse me," the woman said sarcastically, rolling her brown eyes. "I only wanted to know how my family was doing. There's no need to get testy with me."

"Let's get one thing straight," Rose growled, "We are not your family. You are not part of this family and you never will be. Do not presume to think you can just insinuate yourself into our lives and everything is going to be all hunky dory. You and yours shouldn't even be here this weekend. Ed Senior told your husband to find other plans. We didn't want you here and what do you people do? You show up anyway and pretend everything is just fine and dandy."

The woman rolled her eyes again and opened her mouth to retort back to Rose but Bella beat her to the punch. "Can anyone really be fine and dandy at the same time? I mean, dandy is just another way of saying fine. So can a person be doubly fine? It just doesn't make sense."

Everyone looked over at Bella; Esme, Alice and Rose looking fairly amused while the new unknown brunette and blonde scowled at her. Rose nodded at Bella once, impressed she would interrupt to try and diffuse the situation before it became a catfight between them. Apparently the two new women in the room weren't quite as impressed with Bella as the others were.

"And who might you be?" the brunette asked, eyeing Bella up and down, sizing her up to see just what she was made of.

"Bella Swan," Bella answered without hesitation. It was true; she hadn't changed her name yet.

"Well, Bella Swan," the woman said with condensation in her tone, "You need to butt out of family business. Help shouldn't get involved with their employer's affairs. Your job is to just cook and leave." She smiled at Bella overly sweetly, insincerely. "I'm sure you understand. Edward Senior has probably told you at least once not to poke your nose into someone else's business around here. If you keep doing it, it could be lethal to you."

Feeling a little snarky towards this very rude woman, Bella smiled back, just as fake, just as sugary-sweet and mocked, "Oh, don't you worry yourself about me. You wouldn't want to go prematurely grey, now would you? I'm actually a guest of the family; one they actually wanted here." Rose, Alice and Esme's eyes widened comically as they watched Bella back talk the woman they had known for years but never really liked, trying to hold their giggles in. "And as for Edward Senior, I quite like him. He answers all my questions; he even encourages me to ask them. He's actually very funny once you get past the tough exterior."

The three Cullen women sobered quickly while the two new women gaped at Bella like gold fish. Alice was the first to snap out of it and looked over at the brunette woman before telling her, "Bella here is more of a family member than you are. If you don't want Edward Senior's wrath, I'd suggest you back off. He's not in the best of moods since you guys showed up. Don't piss him off, Carmen." The Carmen woman rolled her eyes, not in the least bit concerned, as she took a long sip of her wine and continued to size up Bella from across the room.

Bella was starting on layering the homemade mashed potatoes with seven different types of cheese to make it even more gooey and tasty. She had just picked up the parmesan flakes with which to top off the dish when Tanya pranced into the room looking as fake as a Barbie doll. She thought because she had long legs and perfectly blonde hair with pale skin and ice blue eyes that she was God's gift to mankind. _Rosalie looks better than Tanya even without being put together,_ Bella thought as she tried to ignore her, but Tanya's voice was grating on the ears and her perfume was nauseating.

Leveling out the parmesan cheese on her dish, Bella worked diligently and quietly as Tanya grabbed her own bottle of wine and a glass and hopped up on the counter next to where Carmen was standing. She poured a generous amount into her glass and set the wine bottle down next to her, watching as Alice worked on the crab cakes she had offered to make for an appetizer.

To warm the cheese, and make it unforgettable, Bella slipped the large bowl of mashed potatoes into the oven that Esme had just emptied of her green bean casserole. She knew, with her Aunt Lisa's recipe, they would be coming back for more. Aunt Lisa had been an excellent cook when she was alive, always trying new recipes and perfecting them for her family. Bella missed her aunt right then, but didn't dwell on it. She pushed it to the back of her mind and kept working to make the stuffing.

Esme pulled out the crispy pieces of baguettes and laid them on a cooling rack before she went back to check on her gravy on the stove. She was waiting for the baguettes to cook so she could cut them into croutons for a Cesar salad Rose had already whipped up.

Just as a new guest, with light brunette hair, walked into the kitchen, Bella slammed a head of lettuce down on the counter, just right, on the core vein of the head of lettuce. Everyone jumped but calmed when they realized what had happened, and Bella blushed a bright fire truck red.

The new, brunette girl quickly spotted Bella, and her smile reached her hazel eyes as she made her way through the kitchen to introduce herself to the one girl she had never seen before. "Hi," she said jovially as she stuck her hand out for Bella to shake. Bella flinched away from the quick movement of someone she didn't yet know if she could trust. The girl's smile falter briefly before Bella reached out and shook her hand nervously. "I'm Kate Sanders."

"Bella Swan," Bella replied quietly.

Kate smiled reassuringly at Bella before going over to Alice and asking, "All right, what are my jobs. What can I do to get us out of here quicker?"

"Can you put some wine in one of the fridges please? They need to chill before dinner."

"What kind of wine?"

"A couple of each. Please," Esme replied looking at the glasses the Denali women had in their hands.

"Could you also put a few bottles of sparkling cider in there too? I know not everybody drinks wine," Rose asked as she glanced quickly over at Bella with a secret, protective mamma bear smile on her lips. Bella smiled back at her in thanks as Kate went to work.

It didn't take Kate long and soon she was asking, "What else can I do?"

"The bread. There are a couple of bread machines on the counter over there," Rose pointed to a far counter, "Just follow the directions and get them started. We have plenty of time. They'll take about three hours to cook. Next to the machine there should be a couple of boxes of mix we were planning on using today."

As the last things were made, either for the appetizers or the meal yet to come, they were put in their places. The last of the appetizers went out to the breakfast nook while main meals remained warming or cooking in the ovens and still more food was placed in one of the open refrigerators to keep cool.

When the food was deemed done, the women all moved out to the breakfast nook where they could snack on the food they had just prepared while talking to one another. Bella tried to stay away from Carmen, Tanya and the other girl she didn't know. Kate seemed like good people so she didn't mind talking to her briefly.

As two o'clock neared, the girls would often excuse themselves to attend to the food in the kitchen, to check if anything needed to be tweaked or not before coming back. At one thirty, they descended on the kitchen and started plating the different foods they were serving for dinner. Once Bella had plated her dishes, she excused herself to the bathroom before they sat down to eat.

"Hey," Edward conveniently ran into her as she was returning from the bathroom.

"Hey," she beamed up at him.

"How's it going in there? I heard some loud voices earlier."

Bella shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Tanya the Troll is at it again." Edward giggled like a little boy at the nickname and she smiled at the sound of his reaction. "How are _you_ doing in there with all the guys?"

He shrugged, mimicking her answer, "I'm ok. Some of us want to kill the others, but when is it not like that during the holidays? There are always a few members of the family that tempt the others. Unfortunately, two of them weren't even supposed to be here this weekend."

"It's going to be ok," Bella reasoned, "Just a few more days and they'll be gone."

Edward smiled at her optimism and nodded. "How much longer till we eat?"

"Five? Ten? Just make sure you or your father go check the placement cards. I wouldn't put it past Toddler Tanya to rearrange them to her liking."

He smiled at her and nodded, "I'll go do that right now."

"I'll see you soon. Go save the day!" Bella whispered as she walked past him and slipped back into the kitchen to finish up the meal. Edward walked into the family room and glanced over at his father. Edward Senior saw his son walk back into the room only moments after he left and knew he had spoken to Bella alone.

When their eyes locked Edward motioned with his head into the dining area on the opposite side of the circle. Senior excused himself and followed Edward into the dining room, took one glance at the table and knew someone had rearranged the name cards. Looking across the table to Edward, Senior shook his head and started moving the place cards to where they had originally been.

"Who do you want on this end?" Junior asked quietly.

"Elazear at the very end, opposite me, with Carmen to his left and Irina to his right," he responded, mirroring the volume his son had just used as he moved Elizabeth's name to his left and Bella's name to his right. He didn't appreciate what the little tart had done to his seating arrangement. There were going to be issues if that family didn't start listening soon. He had no qualms beating it into them if they disregarded one more thing he said.

He was placing Edward's name next to Bella's, and Carlisle's next to Edward's when Edward asked, "Then who?"

"Then next to Irina is Laurent; then Garrett; then Kate."

"Have you seen Laurent's name tag?" Edward asked, looking through the ones he had. Edward Senior tossed Laurent's over the table to Edward, who easily caught it and placed it at the appropriate plate.

The way Tanya had arranged the names would cause numerous problems during the meal. There were a few people who couldn't stand each other and, with the way she placed them, they would have been together- namely Edward and Tanya, Esme and Carmen and Rosalie and Irina. It would have ended in a gigantic mess when all Edward Senior wanted was to have a nice dinner and get the unwelcomed people out of his house as soon as possible. The way he had set the table was the way to go. It would cut down on the fighting and bickering tenfold. He already had a headache from the Denali's just showing up and expecting to be treated like welcomed guests, he didn't want a bigger one from hearing their grating voices whining.

Senior laid Esme's name next to Carlisle's then placed Rose's name next to hers and Emmett's next. Tanya's was between Emmett and Carmen's on the opposite side of the table from both Edward's.

"Okay, next to Kate?" Edward asked of his father.

"Alice, then Jasper, Aro then Sculpicia next to your mother."

Edward quickly laid out the names in their appropriate places just as Esme called out, "Time to eat!"

"Tanya's just freshening up quickly. She'll be down in a minute," Carmen told everybody as she smiled over at Edward.

Once all of the food had been brought out and placed on the table, everybody quickly found their seats. Bella was between Edward Senior at the head of the table and Edward to her right. As everybody looked around at all the mouth watering food, Edward took Bella's hand under the table and intertwined his fingers with hers. She smiled up at him shyly as Edward Senior cleared his throat.

A second later everyone heard a quick intake of breath coming from the living room, near the foot of the table. Edward and Bella looked up and saw Tanya standing there, staring at them, her face turning red with anger. She looked constipated as she glared at Bella.

Tanya slowly sat in her seat at the end of the table next to Carmen and Emmett as Edward Senior stood up and raised his glass of red wine. Everyone followed suit, raising their own glasses. Most had red or white wines, but then there was Bella. She refused to have any alcohol and asked for sparkling apple cider instead. Plus, it tasted better. She followed suit, raising her glass.

Senior looked around the table and said, "It's not every day that we are all in the same room with the rest of our family. We take it for granted that they are there for you and will always be. Today is a day of thanks. I'd like each of us to say something we're thankful for. I guess I'll start since it was my idea. I'd like to say I'm thankful for my wife, my family, and those truly rare surprises that completely astound you; that come out of nowhere and knock you flat on your ass." They all raised their glasses and took a small sip as Edward Senior looked over at Bella and sat back down in his chair. Bella smiled shyly, recognizing that his last statement was referring to her. His lip quirked up in a half smile as they all looked over at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth raised her wine glass and looked around the table before she stated, "I'm thankful for family, Ed here," she said looking over at Senior lovingly before continuing, "And I would have to say I'm also thankful for growing extended family." She tried to discreetly glance down at Carmen and Tanya as she said it, but everybody at the table caught her. Rolling his eyes, Edward shook his head slightly and squeezed Bella's hand tighter in his to convey that that would never happen in his lifetime.

They all raised their glasses and took a small sip and turned their attention over to Sculpicia. She smiled at everyone before she daintily cleared her throat and sweetly told everyone, "I'm extremely thankful for Aro, and his family. I'm also thankful for friends," she looked down at Tanya and smiled brighter before continuing, "And sisters-in-law." Tanya smiled even brighter at the thought of becoming Sculpicia's sister-in-law and all the fun they would have spending the Cullen money together on designer names.

_Could they be any more dense and obvious?_ Bella thought as she took a sip of her drink and turned her attention over to Aro and waited for him to speak.

"I'm thankful for family and Scully here," he said pausing dramatically as he looked down at his wife by his side before continuing, "I'd also like to say I'm thankful for the privileges my life has given me. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for my life."

They each sipped at their drinks and then turned to the next person, Jasper, and waited for him to begin reciting what he as thankful for.

"Um… I guess I'm thankful for my friends, family and wife first and foremost. Without Alice I would be stuck in my office reading about strategy and the civil war, but she opens my eyes to all these new experiences and I don't know what I would do without her to guide me through life now. She's my rock and I don't think I could survive without her by my side."

"Well, I guess I'm thankful for friends and family too, but I'd also like to say I'm thankful for designing and sewing and fashion. Oh! Don't forget shopping!" she giggled adorably, "Seriously, I'm thankful for everything I have around me, especially my Jazzy. He makes the grey world full of color and calms me when I get excited. He's my other half in every way. We may be opposites, but we couldn't me any more perfect for each other. I'm so thankful for that and him."

The attention turned to Kate and she smiled brightly as she explained, "I'm thankful for friends and family, but I'm also thankful for my loving husband and my wonderful job back in New York." She nodded once as if to prove her point and turned to look at her husband next to her with a serene smile on her face.

Garrett kissed her cheek before he told everyone, "Friends, family, my wonderful wife, Kate and all the opportunities I have in my life. I never knew so much was out there until Kate started forcing me to get out of the house during the weekends. Everything she showed me only made me love her even more."

The dark skinned man next to Garrett cleared his throat and, with a touch of a French accent drawled, "I am thankful for my friends and family and most importantly, Irina, my beautiful wife. I am also thankful to be in America and living the American dream."

The woman Bella now knew as Irina beamed back at the man and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly for a moment before she picked up her wine glass again and stared into her husband's eyes as she told everyone, "I'm thankful for Laurent. He's my happy place and I love how he makes me feel all the time." She got lost in his eyes so long it made everyone uncomfortable, until a male throat cleared; breaking the spell they were under. She smiled ruefully at the rest of the table's occupants and continued, "I'm also thankful for my friends and family."

"I guess it's my turn," the man at the foot of the table mumbled, "Um, I'm thankful for my friends and family, as well as my wife and my sisters," he said looking from Irina to Kate and then to Tanya. "It's too bad Mom and Dad couldn't be here today to see how we turned out. I think we turned out wonderfully, if I do say so myself," he gloated. "We've done really well for ourselves."

Carmen immediately gushed when Elazear finished speaking. "I'm so thankful for friends and family, but I'm also thankful for expanding, extended families. We should see that soon, I hear. I'm thankful for my friends always having my back when I'm short of cash at lunch and my handsome husband, Elazear." She ran her had up and down Elazear's bicep in a flirtatious way.

Tanya smiled at her sister-in-law and elder brother's interaction and batted her eye lashes as she paused dramatically, waiting until she had everyone's attention before she started speaking, "I'm thankful for friends and family and designer labels and that I was smart enough to take the last remaining classes to graduate early. I have my last class December 16th. This semester is almost over and in a few weeks I can get on with my life with my Pookiebear." She squealed the last part. It was a good thing she caused a commotion because Edward choked on air and started gagging at the thought of spending the rest of his life with that horrid girl.

Thinking that his reaction was due to wanting to keep the new engagement quiet, Elizabeth, Sculpicia, Irina and Carmen all smiled brightly at Tanya. They were finally getting what they had wanted for so many years. They had all been trying to push them together at the family weddings and now it was finally happening.

_Everything will be perfect once Edward and Tanya married. It will be the wedding of the century with thousands of guests and flowers. It will be the talk of the country, not just the town, and everyone will be banging down the door to try to get an invitation. The cathedral should hold all the invited guests, but we would have to find a place that is big enough to hold everyone at the reception. I can see it now! It will be a June wedding right around Edward's birthday so they could be on honeymoon when they celebrate his birthday together,_ Elizabeth was already starting to plan everything out in her head, and was certain everything would be just perfect, just the way she was planning it.

"All right, I think we all get we're all thankful for friends and family, I think we can stop staying that now. It's getting repetitive and monotonous. Think of something more exciting and original people," Emmett joked. "Okay…I'm thankful for…" he stopped to think about it before a devilish smile emerged on his lips, "soundproofed bedroom walls."

Half the table started chuckling while the other half pretended they were prudes and gasped at the crude speech at the dinner table in mixed company.

Rose slapped him up side the back of his head loudly before she spoke, "And I'm thankful for couches in the family room because that's where my husband will be sleeping for the next week. Also family and friends."

"Yeah, family and friends too," Emmett piped in as an afterthought.

"Well," Esme commented, clearly amused, "I'm thankful for friends and for lively, fun family members as well as my wonderful, loving husband, Carlisle." She looked over at Carlisle and they smiled at one another for a long moment, lost in their own little world where they were the only people.

"I don't want to sound cliché," Carlisle started, "But I'm thankful for my friends, my family, my wonderful, loving wife, Esme, and for having a purpose in life. I'm thankful I get the chance to help people every day when I wake up, whether it's at work or here at home with my family. My job is important to me, but I believe my main purpose for being alive is sitting right beside me." He took Esme's hand and gently kissed her knuckles as he looked into her eyes.

"I am thankful for family and friends," Edward began, "but this year I am also thankful that, instead of settling, I waited as long as I did for the perfect one to fall right in my lap. I say thanks every day when I wake up because my life is perfect, even with the little bumps and bruises along the way. I am thankful for the way my life turned out and I'm looking forward to see how much more perfect it can get in the coming future." The people who knew of what he was speaking all 'awed' a little before everyone took a sip of their drink and turned their attention over to Bella.

Most of the Cullen's were curious what she would reveal she was thankful for. Blushing, Bella muttered, "I'm thankful for my life, food on the table, a roof over my head, a warm place to lay my head at night, finally finding a place where I feel I belong, with people who love me unconditionally. Since I came to this place, I have been treated with nothing but kindness and I want to thank all of you for accepting me into your lives. I know it's a big deal and I don't take that lightly. I'll never be able to express just how thankful I am to each of you. Thank you." Edward Senior lifted the side of his mouth in a small half smile at Bella as the other Edward squeezed her hand to remind her he was right there for her if she needed him.

"All right," Edward Senior called, bringing the attention back to him. Bella was silently thanking him for knowing what she needed right then. "Everybody, dig in."

The silence filled the air with everybody's first few bites, but then the appreciative moans and groans rang out around the table, causing Bella to blush and duck her head further towards her plate. Edward squeezed her hand again and the silence resumed.

Everyone was helping themselves to seconds and thirds of food when Tanya's shrill voice broke the sound of utensils hitting china plates, "Next time, whoever made this food, can you try and make it with less fat? I'm trying to watch my figure and the only things I can eat are the turkey and the salads. There's so much fat and salt in all this food. I'm going to have a heart attack from clogged arteries by the end of the weekend. Ungh! Even the potatoes have tons of fat with all the cheese. And what the hell is this? Jell-o? That's just disgusting. Who puts whipped cream in their Jell-o? Ew!"

"Just eat the damn food Tanya and quit your bitching," Rose snarled trying to protect Bella as much as possible.

"And who puts Artichoke in a pasta salad? What kind of dressing is that? It looks disgusting. How can everybody just sit there and eat all these fats? What happened to our normal, traditional food that we've eaten every year before this?"

Esme sighed from down the table and dejectedly told Tanya, "Just eat and shut up. This is neither the time nor the place to do this."

"Do what? Worry about my health?" Tanya asked incredulously.

"If that's what you were worried about, then it would be tolerated, but like you said, you're only worried about your figure. Now shut up and stuff your face with the spectacular food otherwise I'll shut it for you," Rose replied.

"Well I never!" Carmen exclaimed as she looked over at Rose completely outraged.

"That's right. You never," Rose replied waving her hand at the woman and rolling her eyes as she began to eat her dinner again.

"Really, who designed the menu for today? I have a bone to pick with them. They should know I'm watching my figure. You can't get this perfect of a body by eating whatever."

"Excuse me," Bella said sarcastically as she leaned forward to get a better look at the complaining Tanya. She had had enough and she wasn't going to let Tanya push her around anymore. "Pardon the hell out of me that I didn't cater the entire meal around you. I didn't know you were going to just drop by and insinuate yourself into the middle of things. And next time, either you do as you're told and not even show up, don't complain about every little thing when you show up, or you can cook it all. By all means, I would have loved to just sit there like you all day today with a drink in my hand and bitch about everything, but I took the initiative to help. I don't see anyone else complaining about the food. You don't like it? Tough shit. If you leave here hungry, it's your own damn fault. Don't expect us to hold your hand through everything, Tanya. All you've done since you got here is complain and act like a toddler and I'm sick of it. I know others are as well. The world does not revolve around you, you are not the Queen of Sheba, the sun does not, and never will shine out of your ass and I do not have to bow down to you like you've been trying to get me to do with your looks. You can take your looks and shove them where the sun doesn't shine because frankly, I don't give a flying fuck. Now quit throwing tantrums when you don't get your way, grow up and act your goddamned age. And quit the damn pouting, too, you look like a fish." Edward could tell Bella was mad because she had never sworn in front of him before. She always said it was bad form and didn't want to get into the habit.

Everyone sat there staring at Bella. She was red in the face from the anger with tears prickling her eyes, but she didn't let them show. She hated that when she got mad she cried. Nobody knew what to say. Some of the faces were amused, some in awe, but there were a handful that were angry beyond a doubt.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a loud, booming laugh that scared everyone, making them jump in their seats. They all turned their shocked eyes over to Edward Senior who was cracking up for the first time in his life. They had never seen him lose it like he was. He was laughing so hard; one hand beat on the table while the other wiped away the tears that were leaking from his eyes.

As Edward Senior calmed down slightly, allowing a remaining chuckle out every now and then, Rose turned to Bella and smiled as she deduced, "Well, what do you know, the man actually can smile. Who knew the big bad wolf had a heart under all that ice after all." Bella nodded with a slight smile of her own.

"All right everyone, I think we should all turn to a safer subject while we're at the dinner table," Carlisle mediated.

"Oh! What is everybody doing tomorrow? Are we all going to go shopping?" Alice asked excitedly, giddy about Black Friday shopping.

"We're going out shopping tomorrow like always," Elizabeth told Alice. "It's tradition."

"Goody! I can't wait. What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Three. We need to be down here by two forty five so we can get to the stores first. I want the best items, not the throwback ones," Carmen replied snootily, sipping her wine.

"I can't wait! Who all's going?" Alice asked looking around the table.

"Esme and I," Rose told her.

"Irina, Kate, Tanya and me," Carmen added.

"And Scully and myself," Elizabeth commented. They all turned their eyes to the last girl who hadn't consented, looking at Bella expectantly.

Bella blushed a bright red and shook her head, "Don't look at me, I'm not getting up that early just to go shopping. I don't like shopping so count me out. Thank you, but no thank you."

"You don't like shopping?" Kate asked bewildered, thinking it was unheard of for a girl, _a girl_, that didn't like to shop. Blushing again, Bella shook her head in answer.

Tanya piped in, taking a sip of her wine, "well, that's obvious. Look at your clothes. I bet you got those from the half off rack at Target or something." Tanya was doing her best to try and nitpick Bella, all to show the others that Tanya belonged in that world and no matter what Bella did, she would never fit in.

Bella looked down the table at Tanya and calmly asked, "So what if my clothes are bought at Target? Why should I waste money and buy designer labels when I can get better quality clothes at a department store for a fifth of the price. I get better quality clothes, they fit better and I don't look like a tramp. I don't need to have designer labels or multiples of things in different colors to know my worth, but I'm guessing since you have all that, you do."

Interrupting the growing tension between the females, Emmett loudly asked, "Is there any dessert?"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He had consumed five full plates of food here at the table and now he was asking about dessert? How did he have any room left? Did he have the Hollow Leg Syndrome most male teenagers seemed to suffer from?

"Uh, yeah Emmett," Bella muttered, not sure what to say, "We have apple pies, pecan pies, pumpkin pies, cherry pies, grasshopper pies-"

"Those better not contain real grasshoppers," Emmett barked as he rubbed his stomach, hoping to make digestion happen faster so he would have more room to eat dessert.

Bella giggled a little as she asked, "Have you ever had those chocolate mint patty cookies the Girl Scouts sell every spring?"

"Yeah, those are so good," he moaned loudly.

"Well," Bella hedged, "Grasshopper pies taste pretty much exactly like those. It has a pie crust of Oreo cookies and the meat, so to speak, of the pie is a combination of Crème de Menthe, homemade whipped cream and marshmallow fluff."

Rose laughed, "You had him at marshmallow fluff."

Emmett's eyes were twinkling like a young boy's would when in a candy shop. He licked his lips and animatedly asked Bella, "What else is there for dessert?"

"Well, I also made a couple of cheesecakes and caramel apples along with candied apples and peppermint bark with the left over chocolate from the truffles…"

Edward's head spun to hers so fast, it almost gave Bella whiplash. He had been in the kitchen all day the previous day and he hadn't seen or noticed her making truffles, maybe because his attention was so focused on her, he blocked everything else out. He looked like she had just kicked his puppy as he asked, "You made truffles without me? Why didn't you ask me to help? I would have helped you make them…"

Bella nodded just as Elizabeth piped in, "Edward, you know you can't cook without burning the house down. Besides, I'm not sure I like all that candy in the house."

She turned an appraising eye to Bella but Edward Senior stopped her before she could say anything, "Stop it Liz. It's the holidays and they're grown up. You can't control their lives forever."

"Can we keep you, Bella?" Emmett asked.

Shrugging self-consciously Bella replied, "I guess."

"Wait, you say you made truffles? What kind? Are they like the last batch?"

Bella nodded, "Yes. I made the strawberry and the raspberry again, but I also decided to make a brandy one, a kahlua one, and a chocolate habanero one too."

"Oooooo!" Alice cooed eagerly, "Can I have one of those habanero ones? That sounds really good, actually."

"Is it with dark chocolate or milk chocolate?"

"Milk. I figured the milk would taste better with it, dumb down the spice slightly. The dark would have been bitter and bitter and spice just sounded…wrong."

The major advantage of having the main dinner at two on Thanksgiving was that after they digested all the food, they could go back for more and nibble and it wouldn't sit on their stomach all night long like a lead balloon, keeping them awake. The rest of the day was spent talking with everyone and making people laugh and, in Emmett's case, eating another two meals with dessert, all while trying to keep Tanya away from Bella and Edward.

The following morning, a very sleepy Bella and Edward woke to Edward's cell phone ringing nonstop at two thirty in the morning. They tried to ignore it for a while, but when the caller didn't get the message the first couple of times, Edward figured he would see who it was, just in case it was deemed important. After slapping around the nightstand, Edward found it, took one look at the caller I-D and silenced it with a groan. He tossed it back onto the nightstand and went to curl up against Bella's nice, warm, cozy back again when the phone started ringing again.

Edward growled lowly as he slapped around for it again. Answering it, he put it up to his ear and snarled, "What the hell do you want?"

"Pookie!" She called through the phone with her grating, shrill voice. _People should not have to hear something like that during the daytime, let alone at two in the morning._ "Where are you? We're almost ready to go! Are you almost ready?"

"Ready for what, Tanya? I'm not going anywhere today. I'm right where I want to be, in bed, nice and warm. I'm not about to give that up."

"But- but…" she whined into her end of the phone, "who's going to carry my bags around the mall for me?"

"Do it yourself for all I care. I'm not going shopping. Leave me alone," he rumbled at her as he snapped his phone closed and threw it back on the nightstand, snuggling back up to Bella's back.

"Who was that?" Bella inquired groggily.

"One guess," Edward replied hoarsely, his voice thick from sleep.

Yawning, Bella asked, "What did she want?"

"It's not what she wanted, it's what she expected," Edward told her as he nuzzled his nose into her hair and relaxed, sighing in contentment.

"All right, I'll bite, what did she expect?"

Edward tightened his grip around her waist and revealed, "She expected me to go with her and carry her bags like a little lap dog or something."

"Oh."

Humming, Edward continued with his explanation. "Besides, I like you better. You're always warmer and you smell better." Bella giggled sleepily as they settled back into their slumber.

Bella and Edward spent the rest of the day in bed. They refused to come out for anyone and lazed the day away with long naps and quiet talks. The only emerged from the bedroom an hour before the other girls got home and tore into the food, bringing platefuls of leftovers back into the bedroom so they didn't have to venture out again and risk running into Tanya.

A while after they safely closed themselves back in Bella's room, they both heard her voice out in the hallway, calling for Edward. They could hear doors opening and closing as she poked her head into every door, she even tried Edward's bedroom and that was a big no-no. The door handle for Bella's room rattled and she called out, "Pookie? Are you in there? Let me in! I want to show you what I bought today! Pookie-Wookie?" She rattled the door handle again before finally leaving to try a different level for Edward.

Finding a deck of cards in her desk, she and Edward played random games late into the night having more fun just the two of them than they would have had with everyone else. They laughed so much and so hard they wiped the tears from their eyes a few times and their sides were hurting by the time they turned in for the night.

After getting an uninterrupted night's sleep that night, Edward Senior insisted they make an appearance since they had holed up in their rooms the previous day. Edward and Bella both bemoaned as they got ready for another day of trying to fend off Tanya and her asinine attitude and holier than thou thoughts. It was tiring and should have never been attempted twice in one weekend. By the end of the weekend, they felt like they hadn't slept in two weeks.

Throughout the entire day Tanya was constantly trying to latch onto Edward while pushing Bella away, but Edward would have none of that. He made sure she was always within arm's reach of him.

The times Edward was out of the room, Tanya was constantly belittling Bella, trying to intimidate her or start a fight, Bella couldn't figure it out but she chose to pick her battles with The Toddler. Throughout the entire day Bella, without saying anything, was able to show just how childish and petty Tanya was as Tanya pushed Bella around verbally to get a reaction from her. Knowing what the witch was trying to do, Bella didn't react and would calmly tell Tanya to knock it off. The day was all about Tanya's true attitude while Bella didn't need to belittle her and sink to Tanya's level to deal with difficult issues.

When they were all headed off to bed on the Denali's last night, Edward went to go change into his pajamas in his own room as usual, only to then go over to Bella's room to snuggle while falling asleep. He couldn't sleep without Bella by his side anymore. Edward had just exited his king-sized bathroom in his pajamas, and was about to throw his dirty clothes into his hamper, when he glanced over and saw Tanya sprawled out on his bed completely nude as the day she was born, biting her fingernail, trying to look coy and flirtatious.

Edward diverted his eyes immediately as he flung his clothes across the room into his hamper angrily and he growled out to her, "Go put your fucking clothes on Tanya. I don't want to see that shit."

"But Eddie," she whined pathetically, "you haven't touched me and I need you. I need to feel your skin on mine; your lips on me; your big, thick-"

"Enough!" Edward barked loudly. "I have never touched you Tanya, nor do I want to. Now get the fuck out of my room! You're only embarrassing yourself."

Tanya groaned and pouted as she tried to reason with him, "Pookie! It's the twenty first century. We don't have to wait until marriage to get physical. I need you now. Please. Don't leave me waiting."

"Get your fucking clothes on and get the fuck out of my room. I don't ever want to see you in here again-" Edward bellowed at her.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting Edward from continuing. "Come!" Edward barked out, not taking his disgusted eyes off the manipulative woman on his bed. He did not care in the least if she would be exposed to another person, too. Internally, he was hoping it wasn't Bella at the door. She didn't need to see what was happening.

The door opened and Edward's prayers were answered when his father came in. "I was walking by in the hall and heard some yelling. I just wanted-" his voice trailed off when he saw Tanya shamelessly still spread eagle on Edward's bed before them without a care in the world. "What the fuck is going on here?" he asked in an icy, hard tone of voice.

"I came out of the bathroom and she was there without any clothes on, I've been telling her to get some fucking clothes on and get the fuck out of my room, but she doesn't fucking listen," Edward explained.

Senior knew, from all the swearing he was doing, his son was livid. Since Bella had come into his life Edward had cut most of the swearing, or tried to at least when he was around her, but when he reverted back to his old ways and habits, his father could always tell something was stressing Junior out. He looked back at Tanya with an icy stare and sternly told her, "Get back to your room and put some clothes on before I take you out and beat you to a pulp. Do you understand me?"

Tanya jumped, startled at the tone of voice he was using with her and quickly scrambled off the bed. He had never threatened her with physical violence before and she discovered she didn't like it. Yet, she didn't know why she was being scolded. _It was her right to be intimate with her fiancé and surprise him whenever she wanted to. She looked good; her body was perfect without a blemish or mark on it with perfectly shaped 32DD breasts, an hourglass figure and long, pale legs that went on for miles. She was Barbie personified. Who wouldn't want to look at that all day? Even Edward Senior couldn't find one thing wrong with her, so why did neither of them want her in Edward's room? It had to be the sex before marriage, though she didn't know why that was still a factor. It wasn't Victorian times anymore; people had sex, why couldn't she have sex with her own damn fiancé?_ Leaving her robe behind and still in her birthday suit, she quickly ducked out of the door and rushed to get to the privacy of her own room before anyone else could see her.

Edward Senior turned to his youngest and asked, "Where's Bella?"

"In her room. I'm glad it was you, and not her that came in."

"Me too," Senior said clapping his son on the shoulder, "That would have set her back a bit and that'll just delay your relationship. I don't want to see that."

"Yeah, I can't imagine what she would think with that little display that…woman and I use that term lightly just did. That was completely uncalled for."

"Go on over to Bella, I'll deal with the ramifications, if there are any, tomorrow before they leave."

Not having to be told twice, Edward rushed from the room like his butt was on fire and into Bella's room. She looked up from her book and smiled at him as he closed the door behind him, locked it and then leaned his back against it. Seeing the expression on his face, Bella's smile slowly left her lips and her brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

Edward shook his head vehemently as he rushed over to his side of the bed and practically jumped into the bed beside her. He needed to hold her and try to banish the horrid picture that had just been burned into his brain, in a very bad way. Where was the brain bleach when you needed it?

Setting her book on the nightstand next to her, she turned off the light and settled in for the night before she quietly asked, "Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"

Grabbing her in a death grip around the waist, Edward shook his head against her shoulder, "I don't want you to be scared for life too. It's enough that I am, I don't want to taint you, too."

Turning over in his arms so she faced him, she looked into his eyes, though it was almost pitch black in the room, until she found what she was looking for and nodded firmly. She wasn't going to pry. If he wanted to tell her, he would, but she wasn't going to go fishing for information. It would have been like pulling teeth.

He laid his head down on her chest, but pulled back immediately. He hadn't meant to lay it right over her breast. His eyes snapped up to hers to see how she would react, but he didn't see any distress in her eyes.

Bella reached up into his hair and started gently threading her fingers through his hair, the way she knew he liked. He smiled serenely as his head slowly fell back to where it had been on her right breast. He sighed happily as she continued her ministrations.

After a few minutes, Edward needed to change positions to get comfortable enough to sleep. He rolled over so his head was between Bella's breasts, resting over her sternum and his torso was covering her stomach and upper thighs. His arms snaked below her and held her close to him. He needed reassurance that she was still there with him and she wasn't just a figment of his imagination. If it was a dream he didn't want to wake up.

"Thank you," he mumbled quietly against the inside of her right breast.

"For what?" she inquired at the same volume.

"Not prying."

Despite herself, she smiled and continued running her fingers through his hair, gently scraping against his scalp. "Go to sleep," she whispered in amusement. He nodded, his nose skimming her covered breast a few times as he breathed in her unique scent before he relaxed into her and the bed for, hopefully, another good night of uninterrupted sleep. Hoping for no nightmares of what he just witnessed.

Bella made sure to continue playing with his hair until she felt and heard his breathing become deep and rhythmic. She had tried her hardest to keep the giggles in when he started his purr-like sounds. She was always amazed she could get that kind of response out of him. It didn't take her long to follow him into a deep slumber.

The following morning Bella gently unwrapped Edward from her body, got dressed and snuck out of her bedroom, up to one of the seventh floor offices and knocked timidly. The allowance for entry was nicer this time than it had been the last time. She smiled over at Edward Senior and plopped down gingerly in one of the seats before him and asked, "can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Edward Senior replied with a crooked smile on his lips. She had seen the exact duplicate of said smile on his youngest son; it was the smile that was reserved just for her.

Bella smiled and asked, "why don't you like Tanya? I mean," she rushed to explain, "I understand, with the rude and haughty attitude and everything, but every time I see you and her interact, I can't help but feel it's something more…?"

"I always forget how observant you are." He shook his head, smiled ruefully and nodded before telling her, "Yes, I never liked her. Her parents were manipulative, always teaching their children how to get ahead in the world, consequences be damned. When they died seven years ago her brother took guardianship and he married Carmen; Tanya started thinking the world owed her and she was the ruler of everything. Everything had to be catered to the princess and she always got what and who she wanted, when she wanted. She's always been greedy, but she's had her sights on the Cullen fortune since Carlisle and Esme's wedding five years ago. Now she's got her sights set on Edward so she can have the name along with the money and clout. She wants him, so she thinks she's going to get him. She's been telling everyone they're engaged to be married but he is waiting on his mother for the ring, which is partially true. Elizabeth's waiting for him to ask her for her mother's engagement ring, since it was huge and nothing smaller will do for the royal Queen of Sheba," he mocked. "They'll both be waiting a long time for that to happen."

"You didn't want her to have those?"

"Absolutely not. Once she realized what kind of family heirloom jewelry all of us have, she'd go nuts and assume everything was hers. You should ask Edward to see those sometime. I think you'd appreciate them. I never wanted her for Edward, but it seemed like Carmen, and unfortunately, Scully and Elizabeth as well, all think it would be a great union. I think it would be the union from hell and wouldn't last long. Edward would either kill her or ask one of us to."

Bella chortled at his answer and asked, "How were you going to try to stop it from happening?"

Edward Senior raised an eyebrow and asked, "What makes you think I haven't already?"

Bella raised her own eyebrow in challenge, "And just what do you mean by that, Mr. Smarty Pants?" The smirk that quirked his lips told Bella what he had to say would be good. "Can you keep a secret?"

Nodding her head furiously, she smiled at the thought of getting another piece of the puzzle that would help the two bond that much more.

He leaned forward, over his desk, towards her and stage whispered, "When you first came here, I was planning to put you with a few of my associates, but they needed to help me with a rat problem and I didn't feel comfortable placing you with anyone who's loyalties were questionable. So I kept you here, hoping my son would see something in you that he would find more attractive than that vile woman, Tanya. When my original plan went belly up, I had to regroup and figure out what I was going to do with you. Before I could make anything concrete, Edward came to me telling me that you couldn't go. I was forbidden to place you anywhere else, essentially. That's the moment I knew that if I could somehow suggest you two get together in any way possible, I could be rid of Tanya and prevent her from ever getting her claws into this family. It turned out better than I ever thought possible when Carlisle came in with the plan to marry you and Edward, giving you both alibi's when it came to your aunt and uncle. I didn't reject that plan right away. I liked it. I just wanted to see if it was possible. From Edward's reaction to you from the very beginning, I knew you were The One for him; the one he's been searching for his entire life. I seriously think there's something wrong with Tanya's brain. Pulling what she did last night, showing up on Edward's bed completely buck naked like that, is insane. Then she just walked out naked, like it was any other day. She needs to be checked or something because something isn't right upstairs. She's one bulb short of a full chandelier or whatever the expression is."

"She did what?" Bella demanded, eyes wide in horror.

Edward Senior saw her expression and groaned, "He didn't tell you?"

Bella shook her head, "No, he just said it was horrible and he didn't want to taint my existence or something. While he was sleeping he kept muttering something about brain bleach."

Edward Senior roared with laughter at the thought. "Lord, I couldn't make this stuff up if I was paid to."

"Well, whether you meant it or not, thank you. My life could have turned out very differently and I know you had a hand in changing it. So, thank you. For everything."

"No need to thank me, kid. You deserve it."

Edward and Bella were both looking forward to Sunday, the day the evil woman would disappear….Maybe they should try a bucket of water…? She would be out of their lives for a few weeks and they could figure out a plan to break the news of their marriage to Elizabeth. They could have a few weeks to themselves with peace and quiet until the banshee came back.

As the time ticked down to half an hour before they had to leave, Bella was doing cartwheels inside. If she had pom-poms, she would have been waving them in Tanya's face, doing a little cheer. She would be ecstatic when the Wicked Witch of the East was gone.

But Tanya being Tanya had to get one last lick in as she was taking her things down to the lower apartment level. "Listen," Tanya sneered at Bella, "I don't know who you think you are. I don't know if you know who you're messing with, but you had best be gone by the time I come back in December. I will be out of college finally and I'll be moving in so Edward and I can plan our wedding. We have an arranged marriage you know, so whatever you do, he's still going to be mine no matter what. The minute I get back, if you're not gone, I'll throw you out by your hair…or over the balcony. Do you understand me?"

Bella stared at her for a long moment, not quite sure what to say to this…woman, but Esme saved her the trouble of responding by walking into the room at that moment, "Tanya, before you go making plans, you might want to check all of your facts. Don't count all your chickens before they've hatched."

Tanya rounded on Esme and growled, "What are you talking about, Esme?"

Esme glanced from Bella back to Tanya and shrugged, "Just check your facts before you go spouting off what you think should happen, because it might not always turn out the way you think."

Turning back to Bella, Tanya picked up her carryon bag and slung it over her shoulder before she growled, "You think you're wanted here? I'll show you just how much you're wanted when I get back. Mark my words."

"Talk about being full of yourself," Bella mentioned to Esme, causing Tanya's face to turn red in barely concealed anger. "I know where I belong. I know who wants me. I know my place in life; the question is, do you?"

"Of course I do. My place in life is right beside Edward Cullen. We're engaged to be married. He's mine," Tanya argued.

"If you say so," Bella remarked.

"Listen you little pipsqueak. You do not want to be on my bad side. You do not want me as an enemy because I will make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?"

"Oh, I understood. You spoke in English, did you not? Does that mean I'll heed your warning? No. Now you might want to get going otherwise you'll miss your flight. You don't want to do that and cause yourself to have to take another semester of school, now do you?" Tanya snarled at Bella but took the handle of her rolling suitcase and walked off.

Esme smiled over at Bella and wrapped her arm around her shoulders as she quietly told her, "I'm proud of you. You didn't let her walk all over you this weekend. She's used to intimidating people to get what she wants but you held strong. I'm not sure she knows what to do with you."

Bella smiled shyly up at Esme as they walked into the family room where everybody was saying their goodbyes. Tanya was attached to Edward's front like a cancerous growth again. All Bella could do was roll her eyes at the pathetic scene because Edward was just standing there uncomfortably, waiting until Tanya unlatched herself from him to run. He looked so uncomfortable with her it was almost laughable, if it wasn't so sad.

When Carmen came over and laid her hand on Tanya's shoulder, she climbed off him and, a bit too loudly so that Bella could hear, told him, "And when I get back in December, we can start planning the wedding. I'll be out of school so we can spend the rest of our lives together. I can't wait, Pookiebear. It's going to be perfect."

The grimace Edward was trying to pull off as a smile made Bella's chest hurt. He shouldn't have to feel that way. Just because they decided to keep it from Elizabeth until after the holidays he couldn't put Tanya in her place and tell her how it was going to be. Bella felt her stomach roll at the thought of Edward feeling helpless; not able to do anything about Tanya while trying to find a way to break it to his mother that he was already spoken for, without her blessings.

That night, while Edward curled himself around Bella's body and pulled her in close to him so he could snuggle, Bella's mind whirled, trying to make sense of what Tanya had told her before she left. _What was she saying about moving in and planning her and Edward's wedding? Wasn't her marriage to Edward real? It was real to Bella in every sense and she would fight for their marriage with everything she had, against anyone. Was he going to divorce her to go to Tanya? Was he just biding his time until the one he truly wanted would be ready for him?_ "Edward?" She finally asked quietly into the dark air of the night. She needed answers and he was the only one who could give them to her.

"Yeah, Little Love?" he whispered back.

"Tanya said some things to me today before she left…"

"Things like what?" He asked nervously.

"She said that now that she was out of school she would be moving in during December and that you and she have an arranged marriage and at that point would start planning your wedding… Please tell me it's not true," Bella begged. She wouldn't survive if he had been lying to her all along, or stringing her along.

"It's not true," Edward answered immediately. He gently turned her around in his arms so she was facing him and looked her in the eyes as he repeated himself sincerely, "It's not true. I'm married to you and that's not going to change. Okay?"

Bella nodded, but wasn't quite sure she believed it. Tears stung her eyes as they formed and slowly dripped onto the pillow below with a quiet wet tap. He reached up and gently brushed the offending tears away as he cupped her cheek.

"Our family has known their family for years. Elazear was always hoping one of his sisters would marry into our family. When it became obvious the only chance left was Tanya, Carmen started pushing us together at my brother's weddings. I absolutely hated it. Most people think that when she graduates college we're going to get married and live happily ever after; it was the only logical solution to combining the families like Elazear and Carmen desperately wanted. I've always had a strong dislike for her, but the past year or so it's become unbearable. In case you couldn't tell with the way I acted around her, I absolutely loathe her from head to toe. She's a prima donna She Devil who thinks she's entitled to everything she wants in life. I want nothing to do with her and I thank God every time I see you, because it just reminds me that if you hadn't shown up when you had, I would have been pressured, blackmailed and forced into marrying her by her older brother and sister-in-law. You're my other half and I couldn't survive without you. You're it for me."

"Really?"

Edward smiled and nodded, "Absolutely. When she gets here for Christmas, because you know she'll show up to try and claim her 'rightful' place as my wife," Edward started and rolled his eyes at Tanya's audacity to claim, that she could be better than Bella ever was. "I'll let her know I'm married to you and I have no plans of ever leaving you. You mean too much to me to let you slip through my fingers. She's just going to have to get over herself and realize I don't want her. You are all I want in this world. Don't ever doubt that."

Nodding, Bella asked barely above a whisper, "Why is she like that? She's so mean all the time…"

"Well, I suppose she thinks she is entitled to me and you're here and it's ruining her plans a little. She doesn't want that. She always has to be first and, to tell you the truth; she's just a power whore. She lives off being richer than everyone else, being prettier than everyone else, being the 'it' girl who everybody knows about. She wants the Cullen last name because of all the doors it will open up for her. She will never have to work another day in her life and she could shop till she drops and still have money left over to spend on a new island in the Caribbean. Bella, I want you to remember something. It's really important. Can you do that for me?"

Bella nodded. "Yes," fell from her lips like a prayer.

"Just because a person has money, doesn't mean they're high class, and just because a person doesn't have money, doesn't mean they're low class. It's all about attitude. Tanya's attitude is piss poor, she'll never get far in life and she'll never be happy with what she has. She'll never be happy period. But you, you have a beautiful attitude. You constantly want to help others and make sure everybody's okay. You rarely take anything for yourself and you are always polite and a happy person in general. I know some if that is residual from the way your uncle brought you up, but it's who you are. You can be happy again if you want. I think you're already on your way to getting there."

"I'm sorry about the insecurities and everything, Edward. To be fair, I told you that I would probably be like this when you asked me to marry you."

He smiled brightly at her, "And I don't mind one bit. It just means I need to make you feel more secure with our marriage. I'll happily deal with it if it means I can have you. I just want you to know how much I care about you, no matter how you're feeling, no matter what the circumstances. You're it for me, Bella. I'm in it for you. All of you; the ups and downs, the good points and… not so good points," he chuckled causing Bella to let out a watery chuckle of her own.

Reaching up, Edward gently tucked a loose patch of hair that had fallen into her face, back onto the pillow so he could see all of her. He loved her eyes, they were so expressive. He could almost read, through her eyes, what she was thinking. He smiled because he knew he was beginning to get to know her better.

"I know I shouldn't say this to you so early, considering we've only know each other for a little over two months, but Bella Swan, I love you."

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><p><strong>Time for a long AN to match the chapter:**

**Please give a big, hearty thank you to TwiSNFan for being my Beta, my angel in disguise, and putting up with me. You have no idea how much work she actually does to help me with each chapter. She deserves a gold medal! Without her, none of this would have been remotely possible.**

**If you want any of the recipes from this chapter, feel free to ask in a review or PM, but the Chinese Chicken Salad and artichoke dip are family secrets and I reserve the right to deny giving them out. When you contact me, please give me a few days to locate it. I know the general idea of where they are in my kitchen, but I literally have hundreds of write-in-your-own-recipe cookbooks to look through.**

**Leave a review if you'd like. I like seeing what you guys thought was cool or sweet or gruesome or whatever in the chapters, it gives me an idea of what to write, what to shy away from, and what to think about maybe incorporating more of. Questions are absolutely wonderful along with your predictions of where I might eventually take this story or what's going to happen next. Constructive criticism is most welcome, even encouraged, but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one.**

**I will try and get chapter nine out as soon as possible (I'm averaging ten days or so between chapters.) But something tells me the next chapter is going to be slow going for me, just because of the content.**

**Are there any traditional foods you and your family always have when they get together, whether during the holidays or other get togethers?**

**I put a few lines or references in this chapter that could be found elsewhere, can you name them? (All in good fun, no plagiarism intended, just the best way to state the point.)**

**And last but not least, what did you think of Tanya? I always thought she was a couple of cards short of a full deck, even in the books. I don't know why, but something about her just screamed "completely insane!" to me.**


	9. Chapter 9

***I do not own Twilight. I am not SM, although I wish I had her money.***

**This is me warning all of you readers, that there will be some graphic scenes in this chapter. Sometimes I forget these warnings, so sorry about that, but I don't think it will be worse than any other chapters. And since nobody ever reads these, I'll see y'all down below.**

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><p>As the Cullen family reorganized, following the departure of the bitch brigade the previous afternoon, the men knew it was time to get down to business and find Marcus. Knowing he was out there and willing to target any one of their family members put them on edge. They needed to find him before he hurt one of their better halves.<p>

Bright and early Monday morning, Edward made his way into this father's office and closed the door behind him. His brothers had already taken up residence around the desk, so he leaned back against the bookshelves of the back wall and crossed his arms.

"Tell me again, what did he say?" Edward Senior asked, looking from one son to the next, trying to find hidden meanings in the man's words.

"He claimed he didn't know where it was, but Marcus has a small cabin up near Rockford. He said it was fortified with a panic room, an escape route that exits down the road in an old barn and that he's got enough food and supplies to last him two years without traveling out for more supplies. And the last thing he said was that Marcus has a cell phone just for this situation and computer connection. I'm assuming he means internet access," Jasper relayed for the third time. "You can count he'll be watching the news and communicating with his contacts on what we're doing."

"All right, Aro, I want you to get a hold of the phone records. You have contacts in that area; get the records for Marcus' known men. Then I want you to try and find the other men who have no doubt switched to disposable cell phones and find their numbers. You know how to start a trace, I want it on all of the phones and I want ears."

Aro nodded at his father, his aura and features serious. He wanted this man. Marcus was the only man with guts enough to try and go against him and his family and Aro wanted him out of the picture for good. And anyone stupid enough to go after the Cullen women were as good as dead the same moment the thought popped into their heads.

"Emmett, I'm going to need the PG&E bills for the region around Rockford. Look for even the slightest spike in energy. I want to go back three years and see what's changed. I want all of the property owner's names and other bills."

"All right Carlisle, I want you to call James and get him over here ASAP. He's the only one I trust with all of our lives at the moment. He'll need to be kept up to speed on what's going on. Make sure he has his stuff, I want at least one of us at home at all times. I don't care if we have security; I want to make sure there's someone to protect the women if Marcus' team gets past them. I'm probably over reacting, but it's better to be safe than sorry as of right now. Once you're done with that, I need you to help Emmett out, he's got a pretty big job and I think he could use some help."

"Will do."

"Jasper, I need a list of property owners, homeowners, barn owners, land owners, everything. I need everyone's names in that area. Everything on that area, including barns. Everything that was once owned; everything that was demolished and everything that's left abandoned. I want all the information."

"I'll get on it," Jasper nodded gravely at his father.

"And Edward, I need maps of the area. I'm talking topographical, residential, everything available. You should collaborate with Emmett and Carlisle if needed. I want to be able to know who walks on each inch of that land every day of the week, every day of the year. In the mean time, I'm going to go speak to the women and try to explain what all's going on and that they need to be vigilant if they go out, but there's nothing to worry about at this point in time. I expect everything to be done within an hour. We'll all meet up in the conference room two doors down. Bring everything you'll need to continue to locate that bunker and find that damn man."

Everyone fled like the parting of the Red Sea when Edward Senior stood to find the girls. They had an hour to get what they needed to do, before they needed to present it to their father and they had to get it right.

Edward Senior found Elizabeth and Sculpicia having their morning tea in the tea room and Rose, Alice, Esme and Bella at the breakfast nook, eating and joking merrily, imitating Tanya, poorly, from the previous weekend. The moment Bella saw the serious look on his face, her smile faded. She knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" She asked fearfully.

"I need to talk to you girls about something. You shouldn't be alarmed, but I just want to make you aware of the situation. Could you come into the tea room where I can speak with all of you at once?" Edward Senior asked, trying to reassure them, knowing that now that they had a plan in motion, they could take care of it.

The four women grabbed their drinks, abandoning their food for the moment and followed Senior into the tea room where Elizabeth and Sculpicia were talking animatedly. If Bella had to surmise what they were happy about, she would guess it was Tanya and Edward's marriage, though that would never happen. Edward promised to speak to his mother about it that day, but with everything happening, she didn't know if that was going to be possible.

"As you all know, in this line of business, there are always those who try to weasel their way in and take over. Well, Marcus- I'm sure you've all heard the stories about him- is the only one right now who is stupid enough to try and take over and he's crazy enough to do it by any means necessary. He's presented himself as a problem again and has started a war this time around. That being said," lingering a beat longer on Bella, he continued looking at each one of their faces seriously as he spoke, "I need all of you to either stay here in the apartment where one or more of us will be here to protect you, or take multiple guards with you if you leave. I do not want to take any chances with him. He is not one to abide by rules. He does not care that you are women; if he were to get his hands on you he would torture you for information, just like he would any man. He does not make distinctions. We're trying to find his bunker as we speak and as soon as we do that and find him, dead or alive, you can go about your normal lives, but do not leave the apartment before then. I do not want to lose any of you, especially to the likes of him."

"What mediums are you using?" Bella inquired. "I mean, to find his bunker."

Watching her reaction and seeing the curiosity dancing in her eyes, he answered, "Maps and computers. Why? Do you have a better way?"

Smiling brightly, Bella nodded and looked over at Esme, Rose and Alice. "Do you think you could get the information as jpegs and word documents from the guys? I'm going to need a computer, a printer that prints butcher sized paper and some clear, overhead projection sheets."

"I'll go grab my computer!" Alice exclaimed as she jumped up and rushed from the room.

Esme with an amused expression, turned to Bella and told her, "There's some clear over head paper in the art room and a butcher sized printer in the Architecture room you could probably use."

Bella smiled even wider, but Sculpicia immediately quashed everything. "No. Absolutely not! That's my room and my supplies. Not hers. Find another way."

Turning on her, Edward Senior scolded, "If it gets that man out of our lives, Bella can use whatever she needs to help get it done. Just remember, the sooner we get him out of society, the sooner you and Elizabeth can go back to mid morning brunches, afternoon tea and all day shopping with your uptown socialite friends."

Looking like she had eaten something sour, Sulpicia turned her gaze to Bella and sniffed theatrically. Daintily.

As she turned back to Bella, Rose rolled her eyes and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Bella smiled a small, secret smile, but didn't reveal anything as she turned back to Edward Senior and asked, "Do you think you could somehow get me a giant light board in the room?"

"Yes. The sketching room is just one floor below. I'll do that myself."

"Thank you. It has to be a board, not a light box."

"Consider it done. How much time do you need?" Edward Senior asked, looking her directly in the eyes with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

Biting her lower lip, her answer came out as a question. "An hour? But I need all the supplies and information first." She didn't want to assume she would be quick just in case she ran into some problems, yet she didn't want to say an exorbitant amount of time and anger Senior.

Alice rushed in with her neon yellow hp laptop in her hands. She thrust it into Bella's arms and asked, "Okay, now what? What else do you need?"

Bella focused on Alice and answered seriously, "information, and like I said, it has to be in jpeg and word document formats."

"The men are in their offices, gathering information. If you three could get that and get it all to Bella, she'll be in the architecture room."

"Got it!" Alice chirped as she rushed off again, leaving Rose and Esme as they were getting up from the table.

Bella took the laptop and followed Senior up to the fifth floor and into the architecture room. She hooked Alice's computer up to the large printer before going to the sketching room to grab the over- head sheets while Edward Senior went to move one of the many light boards to the conference room, where they were all going to meet up to discuss everything that was found.

Rose waltzed into Edward's office without bothering to knock. He looked up, annoyed at the interruption and asked, "What do you want? I'm kind of busy right now."

"I know," Rose answered off-handedly as she plopped down in one of the large arm chairs before his desk. "I'm here to get your information, maps and everything."

"Why?" he asked confused. He still had another twenty minutes before his father wanted the information.

Smiling, Rose replied, "Your girl has something up her sleeve to help you guys. She won't tell us what it is though. I'm here to get the information to give to her. She wants the format to be jpeg if it's a picture and a word document if it's anything else."

Edward reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a small, purple flash drive stick. He copied everything onto the stick and handed it over to Rose saying, "That's all I have right now. I'll send what else I find to her when I get it."

"Thanks," she said as she held up the flash drive and stood to leave.

Edward shook his head in awe. Before Bella, none of the women had ever participated in anything to do with the business. Now Bella had come along, and they were all helping. "What are you up to, Little Love?" he asked into the empty room.

Bella worked diligently, making sure everything was perfect before setting it aside and starting another. Esme, Rose and Alice would come and go every now and then with more information from the men on their flash drives.

Finally, after two long hours, an hour longer than she said it would take, she carefully grabbed up everything and quickly rushed up to the conference room on the seventh floor, two doors down from Senior's office, where Alice, Rose and Esme had agreed to meet as well. The regular talks with Edward Senior allowed her to feel a little more comfortable on the seventh floor, but she still felt out of place. She pushed that thought aside for the moment because they were expecting her.

She burst through the door with her arms full and a giant smile on her lips. "All right, I think I have it." Everyone in the room looked up at her as they gathered around the large conference room table, James included. She walked around to the head of the table, across from Edward Senior and put her stuff down on the table top. She was pulling the light board over when she noticed James in the room and smiled as she greeted him. He nodded at her to be polite, but didn't quite know why she singled him out from the others to greet.

She finished setting everything up and turned to the men and women in the room. "Okay." She grabbed one of the sheets of plastic and clipped it up against the light board and flipped it on. "All right, bear with me while I try to explain this. I promise I think I may have some good news. So, now, this is the topographical map. It's in different shades of grey; the light indicates flatter areas while the darker areas indicate hills or raised ground. With me so far?"

When everybody nodded, she smiled and picked up another sheet, clipping it right over the top of the first one so everything lined up perfectly. "Now this one, done in shades of purple, is the residential map with the outlines of the houses up in that area. There aren't too many and they're very spread out. The information someone gave me about the list of property owners is all labeled correctly. Each of these houses is spoken for-"

"Would you just get to the point?" Aro asked rudely.

Bella looked over at him and stated, "I would if you didn't interrupt me. I want to show you what I found. After I do my show and tell, which won't take more than five minutes, you can go play cops and robbers or whatever. Five minutes won't make much of a difference. Emmett can make that up while you're driving."

"Please continue," Edward Senior asked, giving his eldest son a stern look to keep his mouth shut.

"Thank you," Bella replied, "Okay, so nothing looks out of place so far, right? Well, maybe you'll start to get the picture when I put this one up." She clipped one with gigantic circles and yellow and grey splotches all over, lining everything up with the ones below it. "The circles indicate the phone towers nearby and the yellow are the areas where there is phone reception up there. The grey is no reception, so we can disregard those. Now, the information I received, put Marcus' men's outgoing and incoming phone calls being from these three towers."

"In two hours you narrowed it down to those few areas?" Jasper asked, completely amazed.

Bella smiled and shook her head, "Nope, I did better than that. Keep watching. Now I take this one," she mentioned as she clipped another sheet above the cell reception and continued, "This one is the PG&E. The different shades of red indicate the different areas and different houses that are pulling electricity. And this one is all the different houses pulling in water from the city." The one she put up then was different shades of blue. "Two more and I promise you'll have your answer. Okay, this green one represents the different areas pulling in gas and energy for heat from the city. And last but not least, this pink one indicates which areas recently had a spike in their energy usage. Now, do you see anything odd?" Bella asked them.

They studied the layered maps for a moment before Edward asked, "I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, Little Love. Could you maybe show us?"

Biting her lower lip as she tried to hold back the bright smile, she walked up to the board and pointed to a little area where everything overlapped and it was dark. It couldn't have been more than a pinprick on the map, but she was extremely excited. "You see this little black dot here?"

"Yeah, isn't it a little piece of dirt? Or is that one of the lines from a sheet underneath?" Emmett asked, still studying the maps.

Bella shook her head and looked at them before telling them, "That and this little point down the road are the only two places where all the maps overlap perfectly. I looked them up on Google map and one is a bright red barn," she pointed to the one lower down on the map by an inch. "And this one, there's absolutely nothing there. I would bet anything this is where your guy is hiding out. And this barn is where the escape route exits."

"That is some trick," Alice commented.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Carlisle inquired.

Bella blushed deeply before mumbling, "I saw it on an episode of CSI once. We were supposed to watch in class."

Edward chuckled as he stood from his chair and gathered her up in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Since I know you're going out there, just make sure you come back in one piece, okay?"

"I will. And after I get back, I'll tell my mother about us…"

"Okay," Bella mumbled into his chest. She didn't want to go through Elizabeth's reaction, but she didn't want to keep the marriage from her. She just wanted to be able to fast forward through her reaction and then start living again. It was like a dark cloud hanging over her head.

"All right, I've got to go hunt this guy down, thanks to you finding him so quickly. I'll be back in a few hours-"

"I'll miss you," Bella whispered.

If Edward hadn't been so close to her, he would have missed it. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead gently. She didn't always tell him what she was thinking, so when Bella made comments like that, he felt himself soaring inside. It was almost like Bella was letting down her wall and letting him in a little; letting him see who she really was. He liked when she did that.

Edward kissed her forehead again and smiled goofily down at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'll be back before you know it. Why don't you find a book and try reading it to keep your mind off what I'll most likely be doing. I'll be back before you know it. Don't you worry one bit. Tell you what, when we're all done and I'm on my way home, I'll even call you so you don't worry more than you have to, okay?"

Bella nodded into his chest, still not wanting to let him go. She had a bad feeling about this in the pit of her stomach. Something was going to happen and she didn't want to be a widow this soon into their marriage. Clutching onto his shirt tightly, one more time, she sighed telling herself she was just being silly. She looked up into his emerald eyes and tried, fruitlessly, to see the future.

"Please be careful," she croaked out quietly, brokenly.

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm coming back to you."

Nodding, Bella sniffled and tried not to let the tears fall. She didn't want him to worry about her when he should be focused on what he was about to do. If his head wasn't in the game, he would get hurt or killed.

Edward took her face in his large, warm hands and kissed her forehead gently. "I could never leave you alone." He kissed her right glistening eye and continued whispering affirmations to her, "You can't get rid of me that easily." He gently kissed her left eye free of the salty tears and whispered, "I love you too much to let anything get in the way of coming back to you." He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled back to look at her.

Her eyes opened slowly and she looked up at him. "Please come back to me."

"I'm coming home to you. I swear it."

She nodded weakly, resigned that she had to let him do this. Bella didn't think this part would ever get better; she worried every second he was on a job.

"Don't leave me alone…"

"Never, Little Love."

"Eddie!" Emmett bellowed as he walked into the room, slamming a magazine into the butt of his gun and racking a round into the chamber. Bella and Edward flinched at the loud noise of the interruption and looked over at the mammoth man with a gun. "Let's go! I want to get home in time to get some loving from Rosie."

The slap that sounded through the room caused Bella to flinch into Edward's warm body as Rose came into the room behind Emmett and scolded, "give them a break Emmett, or don't you remember our first time in the same situation?"

Looking down at his reason for living, Edward whispered in her ear, "I'll be back in a few hours to snuggle so we can each get some sleep."

Nodding weakly again, Bella let him kiss the top of her head again. He whispered, "See you soon," and quietly walked out with an amused Emmett following him quickly. Rose stood there looking at Bella sadly for a moment until they heard the elevator doors ding closed.

The sound seemed to kick Bella into overdrive as she sprinted past Rose and practically flew down all six flights of stairs, trying to catch up with Edward one more time. She had to do something. She couldn't just let him walk out of the apartment without something from her, especially with the dread that was swimming deep in the bottom of her stomach.

Bella often didn't know how to express her affection for other people since she hadn't seen affection since her parents died. It was taking her a while to retrain herself and relearn how to show people and tell people what they really meant to her. Especially Edward. She didn't know how two people who loved each other expressed it to one another given that the only example she had was her aunt and uncle. Besides not having the right role model in her life for showing affection, she often associated any attention or affection with pain and disappointment. Her aunt and uncle hadn't been very loving people to begin with, but add Bella into the mix and they didn't love at all. She needed to show Edward, in some small way, that she actually did care about him.

Winded by the time she reached the bottom floor of the apartment, she ran as quickly as possible through the hallways and to the front door just as it closed. She flung it open and sprinted down the hall.

Hearing the commotion behind them, the Cullen sons turned to see what was happening. Edward turned just in time to catch an airborne Bella with a surprised, "Oomph!" Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as her legs squeezed at his waist. Her face was in the crook of his neck as her hot tears trailed down her cheeks. He gripped her around her waist to keep her from falling to the floor.

He opened his mouth to say something when he heard her barely audible, broken whispers. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know you love me- I just… I'm sorry! I can't-. I don't-. How-?"

The tears rolling down his skin broke his heart. He shushed her as one hand found its way into her hair. "It's okay. You're okay. Everything's going to be fine, Little Love. I've got you," he cooed quietly so only the two of them could hear it.

"I'm sorry! I'm not-. I can't-. I don't-."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Take a deep breath. I'm here." Bella nodded into his neck and did as he instructed, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Now, can you tell me what's got you so upset, Little Love?"

Not able to look at him, Bella whispered brokenly into the warm, damp skin of his neck. "I know you love me and I'm sorry I don't-." She stopped abruptly and took another deep breath to calm her emotions. "I'm sorry I can't always show you. And I'm sorry I can't tell you. I don't know how… Everyone I've ever loved has left me and I'm scared as soon as I tell you, that you'll do the same, intentional or not. I don't want to be alone again, Edward. I don't think I could survive. I never had a good role model for this kind of thing while growing up. I don't know what's supposed to happen… I don't know what I'm supposed to do… or say… I'm sorry I'm not as vocal or as open about it-"

"Shhhh," he cooed again, running his fingers through her hair to calm her. The touch of his fingers against the cooling, sweat moistened skin of the back of her neck had the desired effect and she relaxed into him immediately.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm not better at all of this!"

"Little Love, you have nothing to be sorry about, so please, dry your eyes. I don't like it when you cry, it breaks my heart." Bella sniffled against his neck, loudly, as he continued his ministrations against the back of her neck, holding her close to his chest, up, off the floor. "Don't worry about all this. I know you care about me."

"How?" she asked shakily, still unable to look at him.

"Because," he replied in a soft tone as he pulled his head back so he could look at her. Her wet, coffee colored irises met his smiling grassy knoll ones and just like that, she was sucked into his world like always. "I can see it in your beautifully expressive eyes. You tell me everything with your eyes that you cannot with your mouth. I know your feelings for me because every time you look at me, even now, there is a twinkle in your eyes that doesn't come through when you look at others. Every time, your gentle smile tells me you want to say everything but you can't. And the way you are around me tells me what your heart feels. Although the words are nice, actions always speak louder than words and your gentle disposition and your caring attitude are all I need to know about you to know. With those things, I can wait the rest of my life to hear you say those words, because I already know they're true. You don't give your heart to anyone and I want to be worthy of it when you give it to me, fully."

Locked, staring into his eyes, Bella wondered how she had ever come across a man as perfect as him. For the longest time, she thought these kinds of men only resided in the fairy tales she read in her books. How did her life turn upside down and one of the worst things that happened to her turned out to be the very best?

"Maybe until you're ready to say the actual words you could say something that tells me what you're thinking."

"Like what?" she inquired.

Edward shrugged under her before suggesting, "Maybe something like 'same to you,' or you could always go Patrick Swayze's way and go with 'ditto.' It's really whatever you feel comfortable with."

"Ditto?" Bella questioned. Edward nodded in response as she gauged his reaction from the emotions on his face and in his eyes. She could tell he was hopeful, but resigned to the fact it probably wouldn't happen soon.

"How do you always know the perfect thing to say at the perfect time?"

"You tell me."

"What?"

"It's written in your soul… and shows through your eyes."

"But-" Bella started to ask but he interrupted.

"Like right now you need me to tell you that I love you. So, I love you, Little Love."

Bella smile gently just like she always did at those words. "Ditto," she parroted at him. His smile was wide, stretching from ear to ear as he spun her around, foreheads touching. It was cliché, but Edward didn't care; he had just heard the most beautiful word in the English language. Bella's hands gently cupped his cheeks as they stood there sharing a moment.

"You don't know how happy you just made me," Edward whispered.

"You don't know how happy you've made me since I've gotten here," Bella whispered back. "I didn't know life could be this good…"

A throat clearing down the hall interrupted the bubble they had created and burst around them as they both looked over at the elevator where the others were looking anywhere but at them, trying to give them some privacy.

Sighing, Edward turned his attention back to Bella and whispered, "I have to go to work. I'll be back though. Why don't you see if you can help one of the girls with something? I promise I'll take care of myself and come back in one piece. For you. Do you believe me?"

Bella nodded, gloomily, and climbed off Edward and onto the ground. She felt like a petulant child that didn't want their parents to leave that first day of kindergarten, clinging to them because they didn't know anyone, praying that the parent would just forget everything and take them back home where they could play with their toys. Unconsciously, her bottom lip protruded into a pout as she and Edward stepped back from one another.

Edward groaned, seeing Bella's adorable pout and shook his head, "You are a dangerous creature, Little Love. With one look you can get me to say or do anything you wish."

"Then come back safely," Bella reasoned.

Edward grinned at her, "I plan on it."

"Good," she nodded once as if to punctuate her statement. She reached up and cupped Edward's cheeks one last time, leaning up on her tip toes and gently putting a soft, hesitant kiss on his cheek. She let him go and watched as he grinned down at her brightly. One last kiss to her forehead and he was off. They waved to one another as the elevator doors dinged shut.

The sick, worried feeling Bella had been feeling all day had grown. She just thought it was the foreboding feeling she sometimes got when something bad was about to happen. She slumped back into the apartment feeling both energetic and depressed, only to be accosted by Alice bouncing in front of her with unrestrained energy and an ecstatic smile on her face. "You need something to do to keep your mind off of Edward," Alice declared. "Do you know how to use a sewing machine?" she asked looking at Bella's hands as if they would tell her all the secrets she needed to know about her sister-in-law.

"Yeah. I did all the hemming and mending at my uncle's place. Why?" Bella solicited.

Alice's smile only grew as she clapped and replied as if Bella should already know, "You should make a quilt! That will take time and it's busy work. It's monotonous but it's quite good to get your mind off things. Come, I'll help you."

"I don't know, Alice. I'm not feeling too well right now." Alice waved off her concern. Dragging Bella off by the wrist, Alice and Bella were plunged into the world of fabrics of various colors, and threads of all different colors and materials.

As the doors of the elevator dinged closed, Edward stood there in the front of his brothers and James with a goofy smile that was reflected back on the shiny doors. His entire body was flung forward as Emmett hit him in the back as a congratulatory man pat, causing Edward to grunt from the force.

"I don't know what just happened up there," Jasper interrupted the silence in the small room, "But I take it, it was good?"

Edward nodded once and revealed, "Life changing. Monumental. Amazing."

"I'm happy for you," Carlisle murmured.

The doors dinged open and they stepped out, seeing the others Jasper had called in while Edward was with Bella in the conference room earlier. They were milling around, waiting on the six of them to get to the garage so they could go find Marcus.

"Who wants where? Bunker or Barn?" Emmett asked as they mingled into one group of ten.

"I want the bunker," Aro growled.

"I'll take the bunker too," Jasper shrugged.

One of the lowly foot soldiers of the family stated, "I want the Barn."

"I'll go with Riley to the barn," James replied.

Edward nodded, "Same."

"Bunker," Carlisle answered.

Another one of the foot soldiers muttered, "Barn," around a cigarette he hadn't bothered to take out of his mouth.

"Thanks Royce. Just what I always wanted, lung cancer," Emmett said as he yanked the cigarette out of the man's mouth and told the group, "I want to keep this shit-head in line," he signaled to the man who previously had the cigarette. "I'll take the barn."

"Then I guess you two will be with us," Carlisle alleged looking at Tyler and Mike.

They nodded in understanding as Aro spoke up, "We'll take Carlisle's Mercedes and go straight to the bunker. Emmett, you take the Hummer and go straight to the barn. When we're in place, I'll call one of you."

Piling into the Hummer, James, Riley and Royce took the back seat while Edward got shotgun and Emmett drove. The drive was going to be an hour long, so Emmett decided to just jump into conversation to pass the time. "When are you and the Squirt going to tell mother?"

Edward looked over at Emmett and raised an eyebrow at his nickname for his wife. Emmett smiled cheekily and shrugged not sorry for the name at all. Edward sighed and looked out his window, "I'm going to try to talk to mother as soon as we're done with Marcus. As long as everything goes okay, I think I can ease mother's mind about everything."

"I don't know man; she's really looking forward to you and Tanya starting out soon. I think you're going to have to explain everything a few times to her, just so she gets it through her head. And whatever you do, talk to her soon. They're supposed to come back for Christmas and I think mother's already making plans with Tanya over the phone on what to order and what color schemes and whatever else goes into one of those things."

Edward groaned and banged his head against the window, trying to hit the images out of his head of the, likely, gigantic pink monstrosity that Tanya and his mother were surely already planning for the middle of June, behind his back. He didn't want to think about it, but he knew he needed to tell his mother as soon as possible that he wouldn't be marrying Tanya. He sighed in resignation and resentment towards his mother and her controlling ways. She would no doubt try and get it reversed somehow, begging, pleading and when those didn't work, manipulating everyone involved until she finally got her way. It was going to be just like every other thing she wanted but couldn't get right away.

Elizabeth had been all for the union since the moment it was first suggested, and she made sure everyone around her knew that her son was taken by the beautiful Tanya Denali. When it was implied over the years that Edward didn't want anything to do with the witch, Elizabeth would throw a fit of epic proportions until he finally caved and just went along with it. _That scenario would not be happening this time,_ Edward promised himself. Bella was all he needed in his life and his father, for some unknown reason, seemed to agree to the unorthodox union of Bella and himself. That was all that mattered. His father could deal with his mother. She could act like a child all she wanted, manipulating and throwing a fit until she finally got her way, but Edward was adamant that this time she wouldn't. He would deal with her selfish, shallow ways once and for all if it came down to that.

The car ride after that was silent. They could have heard a mouse sneeze. Nobody spoke a word or even breathed loud enough to be overheard by the others. Riley and Royce each wanted to be the one who caught Marcus once and for all. They both wanted to be the one to show to Edward Senior how superior they were while Emmett and Edward tried to work out their own problems and James sat, staring out his window thinking about his late wife.

As Emmett turned the engine off, Edward's cell rang with Aro's name flashing across the screen. Edward picked it up, even though he knew what the responding answer would be. "You there?"

"Yep. We're in position. Are you?"

"Give us sixty seconds and go. We're getting out of the car as we speak."

The five of them headed towards the crumbling, chipping red barn on the side of the one lane road. Royce was the first in line to enter the barn, but before he could get further than a leg in the door, they heard James scream, "Wait!" and he yanked Edward back by the collar of his nice, white dress shirt, just as a force pushed all of them back, causing them to call to the ground. The others had a chance to change into more appropriate clothing, but Edward had wanted to spend as much time with Bella before he left, and he had foregone changing; now one of his nice dress shirts had paid for that decision. Since Emmett, James and Edward were further back, they landed on their backs while Riley landed on his side and Royce landed on his stomach.

Jumping up, James immediately started yelling at Royce and his utter stupidity. "Are you completely blind? How did you not see that God-damned trip wire? Do you not watch where you're going?"

Emmett groaned as he sat up and inquired, "Is everybody alright? Is anyone injured?"

Staring straight up at the light blue, white puffy cloud filled sky; Edward realized just how close it had been. Any further into the barn and he could have been seriously injured, leaving Bella alone in the world; the exact thing he had promised would never happen.

Emmett came into his vision and the ringing in his ears dimmed as he heard his brother worriedly ask, "Edward? Where are you hurt?"

"Wh-what?"

"You have blood on your shirt. Where are you injured?"

As the adrenaline faded from his system, Edward realized what Emmett said and grabbed at his bloody, burnt and shredded shirt to see where he was hit. At seeing his pale, washboard abs untouched, he let out a relieved breath and slumped back against one of his arms. He was desperate to go back to his girl in one piece.

"It's not mine," Edward breathed, having never been more relieved than at that moment.

Furrowed brows and all, a very confused Emmett asked, "Then whose is it?"

Just as the question left his lips, there was an ear piercing scream from one of the others. Their eyes searched out the one responsible and saw Royce still face down in the dirt looking blood splotched and pale with clammy skin. The blood was coming from below his torso area and contaminating the light brown soil below making it look a sticky black color.

Edward crawled on hands and knees over to the man who was freaking out about his injuries. Picking up a bloody piece of body part, he studied it momentarily.

"What's that?" Emmett inquired, walking over to see for himself what Edward had in his hand.

"One of his balls," Edward replied nonchalantly, just glad it wasn't him. "Don't worry," he stated looking back at Royce as he tossed the disarticulated scrotum over to Emmett, who caught it easily. "You don't need it. That's why God gave you two of them."

Emmett chuckled loudly before giving it back to Edward and looking over at an amused looking James and a sick looking Riley. He motioned to the rest of what remained of the barn and said, "Come on, let's clear the place. The others are clearing the route. Are you going to be okay here, Edward?"

"Yeah. I've got it," Edward replied off handedly. He rolled the man over onto his back to see the injured area to try to tend to him the best he could. Carlisle was better suited for this, but Edward was well versed in injuries, enough to know what the basics were and what he had to do.

A short while later, when Edward had just about stopped the bleeding, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the sky blue eyes of his older brother. "Just the man I needed-"

"Edward," Carlisle interrupted, kneeling down next to him, worried about his youngest brother "What happened? Are you ok? You're covered in blood."

"It's his," Edward motioned to the man at his knees. "He has a detached nut, and some lacerations from flying debris that was kicked up from the blast, but the explosives look to have been placed in a strange location that didn't cause much damage to anything but the barn. Everything seems to be fine. Nothing life threatening, at least."

"He's lost a lot of blood, Edward. We need to get him to the hospital. I won't be able to do anything to save his life out here. I don't have any blood. Where's the scrotum?" Carlisle asked, slipping into his doctor façade and getting straight to work. Nothing medical shocked the man and he definitely wasn't squeamish about getting his hands dirty.

Mike wondered over and his pale face seemed to tint green when he saw what Carlisle was working on. He stopped mid step, unable to make himself finish with the movement, too shocked at the picture before him.

"What do you want?" Edward asked tersely as he helped Carlisle with whatever he needed. Mike was quiet as he watched Carlisle work. "Mike!" Edward shouted to gain his attention.

Jumping out of his trance, Mike looked up at him and explained, "There was a fork in the route halfway between the bunker and here. Marcus must have known we were coming somehow and fled through the detour. He's still in the wind."

"Son-of-a-bitch," Edward growled lowly.

"I need to call into the nearest hospital. He's going to need some stitches, a lot of blood, surgery to try and either reattach the scrotum or repair the wound and he'll probably need to stay for quite some time. We need to get going, Edward. I don't know if he's already gotten an infection from the environment and not being able to wash our hands before we tried to help. He's best off where they can monitor him."

"Ok, let's get him in the car."

"I'll drive," Emmett called as he showed up from out of nowhere. "I've already told Aro what's going on. He's going to drive the others back into town when they're done clearing the rest of the tunnel down there. They want to see where it goes. It's a waste of time, Marcus is long gone by now. There's a hospital over on Clark road, it's not too far from here."

Emmett helped his brothers haul the nearly passed out, yet still groaning, whimpering, whining mess of Royce into the back of the hummer and drove off like a bat out of hell to get him to the hospital. Emmett was quite impressed that Royce hadn't either screamed like a little girl or passed out from the pain yet, but he wasn't going to see how much longer he could hold out. The pathetic whimpering was just about all he could bear. The poor man had just lost half of his family jewels. It had to be painful and Emmett didn't want to mess with the man any longer; that would just be cruel and unusual punishment to have to endure.

The shrill, generic ring of her phone woke Bella from her monotonous, mind numbing work of cutting the fabric she would be using for her quilt and she looked at the caller ID.

Edward's name flashed across the screen, causing Bella to smile brightly and answer the call, "Hello? Is that you, Edward?"

"Hey you. I told you I'd call when we're done. Marcus managed to slip away through a detour in the escape route. I'll be home a little later. I need to get to the hospital-"

"What!" Bella shrieked into the phone causing Alice, Rose and Esme to look over alarmed. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're fine."

"Bella. Bella. Bella." Edward interrupted her growing panic and impending panic attack. "I'm fine. I'm completely unharmed. Unscathed and coming home to you tonight. Don't worry."

Sighing in relief, Bella felt the ice in her veins thaw slightly. She looked over at the women in the room. They immediately stopped what they were doing, sensing something was wrong.

"Who?" Bella choked out in a broken whisper.

The pale, apprehensive faces of the other women watched as Bella's body slumped to the floor with a low thud. The phone skittered across the floor and Edward's concerned voice could be heard calling out. Rose jumped into action and grabbed the phone as Alice raced over to Bella to check if she was all right. Disregarding the pins in the dress they were hemming, Esme followed Alice to Bella's unconscious, limp body.

"Edward?" Rose asked into the phone, dreading the answer to her question. "Who was it?" Alice and Esme looked from Bella to Rose for the answer.

"It was Royce. He'll be in the hospital for a while. Let's just say he only has half a chance to have children now, but he'll be fine."

Rose let out a relieved breath before passing the information on to the others, "It was Royce. He'll be just fine."

"Oh, thank God," Esme breathed and turned back to Bella to tend to her.

"What happened to her?" Edward implored, fishing through the phone for information.

Rose answered absentmindedly as he looked back at Esme and Alice flitting over Bella, trying to make sure she was uninjured and trying to wake her, "She fainted."

"Is she injured? Did she hit her head?" Edward worried, "What's going on?"

"She'll be fine. We're going to put her in her room and look after her until you can get back. How long are you going to be?"

"An hour or two. I'm going to get him checked in and settled and then I'll be back. Please take care of her until I come back. Please?"

"Yeah, I'll have Senior move her to her bed. Just please, hurry up. I would like to make sure my Emmett is still in one piece."

She could hear the ambulance sirens wailing in the background as Edward yelled to be overheard, "We're at the hospital now. If Bella wakes up before I get back, tell her everything will be fine and I will be back within two hours. Can you do that?"

"Sure. See you soon."

As the phone snapped closed, Rose knelt down next to the other girls, checking on Bella again before she looked at the others and said, "I need to go get Senior to take her to her bed. Even though she's small, I doubt any of us can carry her. Can you try waking her up?" she asked Esme, and then turned towards Alice, "And can you go make sure her bed's cleared off and a wet compress waiting for her when we get in there?" Alice nodded and scurried off as Rose rushed out of the room to do as she was told while Esme started gently patting Bella on her cheek and cooing at her in hopes of waking her.

Not even bothering to knock, Rose burst into Edward Senior's office and hastily called out, "Bella needs your help-"

"What's wrong?" Edward Senior asked, immediately alarmed.

"She fainted. We need to move her to her bed but the girls and I aren't strong enough to pick her up."

Edward Senior swiftly stood and followed Rose down to the third floor where the sewing room was. He gently brushed Esme aside and knelt next to Bella. He could see she was clammy and warm, which wasn't normal for just fainting. Something more sinister was going on with her and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He glanced over at Rose before asking, "Are the boys almost done with Marcus?"

Rose stammered uncharacteristically for her, "There were a few problems and they need to go to the hospital. Royce was injured. Carlisle says he'll live, but he'll probably need to spend some time under observation. Edward said as soon as they get him checked in and settled, they would come straight back."

Edward Senior hooked his arms under her legs and behind her back before gingerly picking her off the tiled floor and asking Rose to get the doors. She did as she was told and followed him and Esme quietly up one floor and into Bella's bedroom where Alice was waiting with the sheets turned down and a cool compress in her hand. He laid her on the bed, tucked the bed linens around her tightly, sat down next to her and took the cloth to soothingly wipe the accumulating sweat from her brow.

Looking around at Alice and Rose, Esme quietly asked, "What else can we do?"

"Can one of you call Carlisle and tell him what's going on? I don't like this. This shouldn't be happening if she simply fainted. Tell him when he gets here; I want him to do a complete work up on her. I want to know what's going on."

He continued to dab her face gently as Esme picked up her phone and dialed her husband. Carlisle picked up on the third ring. "Esme?"

"Hi honey. Um, are you close to Edward at the moment?"

"Um…kind of, we're in the same room. Why? What's wrong? Is everything all right over there?"

Glancing back at Edward Senior and Bella, Esme sighed before telling him quietly, "You have to promise not to tell Edward until you're on your way back. I don't want him to worry, but we think Bella's sick. She won't wake up and she's sweating really badly. When you get back, Senior wants you to do a full work up on her just to be sure. I hope it's just the flu…"

Looking back at Edward sitting in one of the hard, uncomfortable beige colored waiting room chairs, and replied, "We'll get him checked in and head back there. The drive will take about forty-five minutes, but he'll want us to speed to get back to her quicker."

"Just be careful," she mumbled, shifting her eyes back to the sick girl in the bed, "But hurry, please. She doesn't look good."

"We're coming. Do you have a thermometer to take her temperature?"

"I can go find one," she replied as she rushed out of the room and up to their room where she knew one would be. She wasted no time grabbing one out of the medicine cabinet behind the mirror in their bathroom and rushing back downstairs. She turned it on as she hurried down the hall and into Bella's bedroom. She sat on the opposite side of Bella and stuck the stick into her mouth to get the read. It was the longest thirty seconds of their life as they waited for the beeping noise.

The number on the white stick was high and Esme flinched slightly as she read it into the phone, "102.5 degrees. She wasn't this hot a little while ago, Carlisle."

"We'll be there soon. Every ten minutes or so, take her temperature and record it. I'll be home when I can to look her over. I'll let him know when we're in the car."

The half hour following the end of their conversation was excruciating. Esme continued taking Bella's temperature as Edward Senior continued trying to dab her face to cool her off. Nothing seemed to be working to make her any better.

The door burst open loudly, banging against the wall and bouncing back as Edward ran through the door and over to Bella's side. Esme quickly vacated her spot at her side and stood near the head, allowing Edward to have her place. He reached up and gently brushed the sticky, sweat soaked hair off her forehead and back onto the pillow as he asked, "Is she okay? Is her temperature going down? What's wrong with her?" His voice was shaky and filled with anxiety and his eyes held worry and pain.

No matter how many times Edward Senior saw it he was still surprised at just how much Edward cared for this girl. The love in his eyes when he looked at her, the bright smiles he never had before she came, the soft touches he gave her, it all left Edward Senior mystified. He wasn't saying that it was impossible, nor did he say he didn't have it with his own wife, but of all the people he could have bartered for, it was this girl; the girl that seemed to move Edward's sun, moon and stars. _What were the chances? A million to one? A billion?_ Edward Senior asked himself as he watched his youngest son take care of his wife.

Carlisle came in with the black doctor's bag he kept around the house and Edward Senior stood, allowing him to check Bella's vitals and take some blood. Senior was just as worried as the rest of them, but unlike the rest of them, he wasn't used to expressing his emotions.

He looked over at Emmett to try and keep from showing much and gruffly asked, "What happened today? Where's Marcus?"

"There was a detour in the escape route about half way along, and when we came in, he must have escaped through there. Aro, Mike and Tyler followed it and found it came up into a nice little cabin out in the middle of the woods about three miles away. There was no sign of him by the time they got there. He was long gone. I don't think anyone but Marcus knew about the secret path in the escape tunnel. It was too hidden. Aro is still there, sifting through everything to see if there were any clues as to where Marcus would go. James is down stairs in the computer room trying to find where he is."

"Good," Senior nodded, pleased they were taking initiative to find the man that had caused their family pain and suffering over the years, as well as financial loss for their business. "That's good." His eyes returned to the pale, weak looking girl in the bed before him and he turned his head to watch his youngest son.

Edward was leaning in close to Bella's ear, whispering something nobody else could hear as he continued to brush her hair away from her warm body. He still had the blood splattered, shredded and dirty clothes on he had worn to Marcus' hide out. Even though he wanted to, Edward Senior knew he wouldn't be able to drag his son away from her to change his clothes.

"What's the prognosis?" Edward Senior asked as Carlisle finished hooking Bella up to the fluid IV he had had in his office, having set it up on a hook on the headboard above her so that it continued to drip, and draped the stethoscope around his neck.

"Well, from what I can tell, it looks to be the stress of everything finally catching up to her along with a case of the flu, but I'll know more when I send the blood into the hospital to get a complete work up. If it is what I believe it to be, then it shouldn't be long before she wakes up. But it may take a little longer to get her up and moving again. She has a lot to de-stress from," he muttered, watching as a violent cold shiver ran through Bella's body, before turning his gaze over to his brother. "The only thing we can is do try to reduce her temperature, continue with the drip and make sure someone's with her at all times."

"I don't want to take her to the hospital until it's absolutely necessary," Edward mumbled brushing her hair off her face.

"I'll see what I can do Edward, but it might come to that. I can only do so much here with the supplies I have," Carlisle replied.

"I'm going to stay with her," Edward answered in a no-nonsense tone, never taking his eyes off his ill wife.

"That's fine for now, Edward. But if she's unconscious for any length of time, you're going to need to get some rest too. When she wakes up, you're going to have to help her and you need to keep your strength up for that."

"I'll be fine," Edward responded, shrugging off the consequences of not getting enough rest.

"Why don't we try and use some ice packs to cool her down. If they don't work, we'll get her into a cool bath to soak for a while and see how that works. I'll go get some icepacks," he said softly, standing.

It took three days for the fever to break. Every moment Edward stayed by her side with the exception of five minutes a day when the girls would come in. He had moved an overstuffed arm chair from near the reading nook over to the side of the bed and often sat there trying to will Bella awake, to see her beautiful eyes smiling at him again.

Esme, Alice and Rose kicked Edward out of the room each morning and would come in each day, sponge down and change Bella out of the previous day's clothes, only to put on a new pair of pajamas before letting Edward back into the room to be with her. While changing her clothes, the girls would talk to Bella, even though she couldn't respond. They wanted to make sure she somehow, subconsciously knew what was going on and who was in the room.

While he was out, Edward would go and switch his own clothes and maybe take a quick shower before returning to Bella's side to continue his quiet vigil. The others would try to get Edward to leave to do something, eat with everyone, read a book, or take care of the hotels. Anything. But he wouldn't leave her.

When he had to sleep, he would pass out with his chest and head on the bed next to Bella while he held her hand. Or, if someone else was in the room, he would pass out on the reading nook couch, but he wouldn't leave.

The rest of the week was slow to pass, as well as the following week. Thursday turned to Friday. Friday turned to Saturday. Saturday turned to Sunday. And Sunday turned to Monday. Each day that passed put Edward in a worse mood. His spirits were dwindling and hanging on by a thread and he was going crazy. He would only maintain his sanity by talking to Bella, explaining different things, revealing things he never thought he would say aloud to another living soul. He worried himself so much, Carlisle was concerned he'd come down with ulcers.

As a last ditch effort to keep his sanity, two weeks since he'd seen her eyes last, he sat down on the edge of her bed, took her hand in both of his big ones and brokenly started begging her to wake up. He was desperate to see her smile again. He wanted to see the life in her eyes. At that point, he would have tried just about anything for Bella to come back to him.

"Come on, Little Love. It's been two weeks already. Come back to me, please. I want to see your beautiful smile and those pretty, chocolate eyes. Come on, Love. You can do it. I know you can," he pleaded softly in her ear as he brushed the hair onto the pillow below. He gently ran his thumb across her chapped, pale lips and beseeched her to wake, "Please, Little Love. You have to wake up. I don't know what I'm going to do without you if you don't. I love you too much to see you like this. It breaks my heart to know you're sick and I can't do anything about it. I love you." He closed his eyes, praying silently she would be all right.

Edward hadn't liked the pain in his chest when he wasn't around Bella, but this was insurmountably worse. He could see her and feel her, but he couldn't connect with her. Being closed off as she was, he usually was able to get certain things from her expressive eyes and mouth, but now, when she was laying in her bed unconscious and burning up, he couldn't get a single sign from her. He was dying to get her to open her eyes and come back to him.

The silence was unbearable to Edward. It was usually a comfortable, easy silence between the two of them, but this was neither. He just wanted some small sign of life from her and he wasn't getting it. Seeing her so pale and lifeless, and imagining the pain she must be feeling, chipped away at his heart every moment he had to endure it. He couldn't help her when she needed it most and he felt helpless. Anyone who had ever had to watch a loved one go through something painful or heartbreaking, and couldn't do anything to help them, would understand just how… powerless it was. Edward was going crazy from the vulnerable feeling he had watching her.

"Ditto," she whispered weakly.

His head snapped up and his eyes got large. It was the first time in over two weeks he had heard her voice and even though it was weak and crackly, it was music to his starved ears. He smiled and chuckled in relief as he sat down on the bed next to her. Her eyes were tired and she looked frail but alive and Edward was thanking anyone and everyone that she would be fine.

"There you are, Little Love," he said with relief palpable in his tone, "You had me worried. I don't think I've ever heard a more perfect word than that one."

"Sorry," she croaked brokenly.

"It's fine now. Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I'm here to get you better. Just relax and try and get some sleep, you're obviously tired and you need your strength. My Little Love, I love you."

Bella relaxed back into the bed linens knowing that, with him there with her, everything would be fine. She signaled weakly for him to climb into the bed next to her. She wanted to be held so that she wouldn't wake up along believing that the last three months were just a dream she had conjured back at her aunt and uncle's house. With a small smile on her face as he wrapped his arms around her, she sighed out a soft, "Ditto."

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><p><strong>This one wasn't as long as the last one, but something tells me next chapter will be even longer than chapter 8… so please be patient and I will try to make it worth your while. I'm already mostly done with it, I'm going to send it to my beta in the next two to three days, so you should get it before the end of the week sometime.<strong>

**I am not a doctor, nor will I ever be, so please excuse me if I got some of the stuff wrong. Just leave a review or PM me and let me know where I messed up so I can learn. She is sick, it's just the flu and the stress of everything catching up to her. I'm sorry, but please bear with me, I needed this to work so I could go to the next chapter.**

**Give a great big round of applause to TwiSNFan for correcting my mistakes. If I ever get this published, you'll be in the dedication section for sure. You have no idea just how wonderful you are! I appreciate the help you've been giving me and I know it takes time to edit the chapters, especially multiple times, but I just wanted to let you know that none of this would be possible without you!**

**I received so many PM's last chapter for the recipes and a great review that told me to just make a chapter of it, so I think I'll post a chapter with all the recipes. I have most of them already typed up and ready to go. I just have one or two I still need to gather, mainly the mashed potato one and the Jell-O salad one. I've gotten a lot of requests for those two, so I had better post them or I may get burned at the stake.**

**Thank you all who reviewed. I am still in awe of all the positive feedback I have received for this story! Leave a review if you could. They let me know how I'm doing. What did you like? What didn't you like? What did you think of the characters? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? What are your predictions for the story? I want to know because if I like them, I may use them some way later on in the story. I love all of you who have reviewed! Thank you!**

**Just remember, constructive criticism is most welcome but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one. Thank you!**

**Until next the time, be safe!**

**Jo**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I still don't own Twilight, and I'm still not SM.**

**Sorry about the delay, but I completely forgot about Easter this past weekend. Both my beta and I had prior obligations so this was pushed to the back burner.**

**I'll see you all below since nobody ever reads these things-**

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><p>The days that went by after Bella awoke were difficult. She was weak and had very little appetite, causing Edward additional worry. Tuesday, the day after she first woke, was spent just trying to maneuver around her room. Wednesday was spent moving about the floor. Thursday was spent conquering the other floors, albeit sitting down and taking a rest every fifty feet or so.<p>

Edward was so happy Bella was out of danger, he didn't mind at all about staying with her every moment and making sure she was comfortable and resting. He enjoyed seeing her smiling face again and could feel the muscles that had been tense for two weeks prior, slowly starting to loosen.

Emmett, Aro and Jasper were continuing the hunt for Marcus and anyone who might know his whereabouts. Even with all their good work, he kept slipping right through their fingers. The first time Edward Senior asked for a progress report on the hunt for Marcus, Emmett - with a serious face - responded with a quote from his all time favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption. "Nobody seems to know where he is. Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind."

Edward Senior referred his queries to Aro and Jasper after that.

With everyone's concern about Bella's health and Edward's obsessive worry over her, very few people in the house really paid attention to the calendar date. The only two who were watching the dates closely were Sculpicia and Elizabeth. The date to the Denali's return loomed closer and closer, and the two of them were ecstatic. Every day down was a day closer to Tanya and Edward's wedding and Elizabeth was going to do everything to make sure it was perfect. She'd change the weather herself if she had to. Everything would be perfect. The calls Elizabeth would take on her office phone, two doors down from Edward Senior's office on the seventh floor, steadily got longer and longer as she discussed arrangements. She wanted everything to be perfect. And come hell or high water, it would be perfect. She was not above beating people to get the desired results.

On the morning of the day all hell would break loose in the apartment, Edward and Bella made their way into the kitchen. Edward beseeched Bella not to over-work herself but Bella decided she needed to make cookies. She was tired of not being able to do anything and she needed to move around a little; making cookies and having fun with Edward seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so.

"How thick do you want the dough?" Edward asked as he rolled the sugar cookie dough out flat onto a floured surface.

Looking back and laughing at the flour streaks on his face and shirt along, with the light dusting of flour in his hair, she giggled out, "about a quarter of an inch. Make sure they're level though."

"Why are you laughing?" Edward asked playfully, brandishing the rolling pin at her like it was a sword. He was so glad that she was laughing again. It was a sight and sound he had missed over the past two weeks. He would do anything to keep that joyous, carefree look on her face. She looked stunning like that, even if she, herself, had streaks of flour over her face.

The giggles burst free again as she choked out, "You're completely covered in flour!"

"Me?" Edward exclaimed in a mock exaggerated tone, "Go look at yourself in the mirror!"

"No!" Bella gasped in the same playful tone, "Are you calling me ugly? You should never call a woman ugly, Edward. It's ungentlemanly to do so. I'm anything but ugly." She nodded her head once as if to agree with herself and prove a point to Edward.

"No," Edward agreed as he made his way over to Bella and wrapped his arms around her waist while she continued to flatten her own pile of dough with another rolling pin. His chin rested on her shoulder as he continued, "You're definitely not ugly. You're the furthest from ugly I have ever laid eyes on. You're perfect, even with your imperfections. Those are what make you perfect. Those are what make you, you and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't have it any other way. You're perfect for me and that's all that matters."

"Edward-" Bella started, ready to scold him but Edward wouldn't let her.

"No. I know you don't realize just how wonderful you are because of what your aunt and uncle did to you, but you are. Let me tell you that. Maybe if I keep saying it, you'll come to believe it one day. I know you're not good at this romantic, mushy stuff, either giving or receiving, but I like giving you compliments and I like you close. I like holding you, in a completely innocent way, and I'm hoping the more I do it, the more comfortable you'll be with the attention, and with me."

He squeezed her middle, gently, and continued softly. "It's just me, Bella. You know there's nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you. And I know you know that. You're just scared to open yourself to others for fear of getting hurt and being let down. Bella, I love you. I know you can't say those words yet, and I don't mind right now. It's okay. I would love it if you said them, but I know you'll say them when you're ready and when you do, you'll really mean them. I want you to know that no matter what happens and no matter what people say, I will always love you. You are it for me. You're my life now. I wouldn't survive without you by my side. You can take all the time in the world to come to terms of my love. You don't have to say anything right now, but you need to know, I do love you and I'll keep saying that, even after you realize I'm being completely honest with you."

Torn, not knowing what to do or say, Bella stood there trying to come up with something. Edward sighed against her shoulder and gripped her in his arms tighter. Looking down at his arms around her waist, she whispered brokenly, "Edward, I think there's something wrong with my head. I don't know how to do this. I never know what to say or what to do…"

His warm breath and soft lips tickled her neck as he whispered into her skin, "I hate what they've done to you, Little Love. I hate it, but I can't take it back. What I can do is make sure you feel completely loved and cherished for the rest of your life. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make up for all those years you went without. And no matter what you do or say, you can't stop me from lavishing you with attention and affection."

The sound of the front door closing and paper shopping bags rustling was all the announcement they needed to know Alice was home with her many new trinkets. They knew she was entering, but they didn't move from their positions. She glided into the room and came to an abrupt stop at seeing Edward and Bella standing so close in the kitchen. The smile on her face was blinding as she dropped the bags and skipped over to an amused Edward and a wary Bella. Alice quickly enveloped Bella in her arms for a hug, not an easy feet for someone so short, but backed away just as quickly. She didn't want to smother the poor, recovering girl.

"I'm so happy to see you up and moving around, Bella! It was so boring here without you!" she told Bella with a giddy tone to her voice. She glanced over to see what they were doing and squealed excitedly, "You're making Christmas cookies? I haven't had those in so long! Are you making the homemade butter cream frosting so we can frost those?"

"You want to help?" Bella asked with a smile on her face.

"Well, duh!" Alice replied as if Bella should have known better, "I haven't decorated cookies in at least three years; ever since I met Jasper. I spent most of my time here with him and you know how their mother is, no sweets at all. I like how, since you arrived, you've been doing things without even consulting her. She's not a nice person and very controlling. If she knew all that you make, the sweets and everything, I'm sure she would have a shit fit. But please keep making all these things. It smells nice and you don't know how much a cookie or truffle or something will brighten your day when you have to deal with your mother-in-law." Alice eyed her, seriously. "You're good for this place and the people here, Bella. You break us out of our shell and show us the good things in life don't always have to do with money and how much you have. Thank you for that."

Bella blushed and looked down at the cookies, giving them her full attention to try and deflect Alice and Edward's eyes. She glanced around the room to try and distract them and saw all the bags Alice had come in with and asked, "What did you buy today?"

Smiling brightly, Alice clapped her hands like an excited little girl and answered, "I got a whole bunch of Christmas decorations!"

With brows furrowed, Bella questioned, "Why don't you just use last year's decorations again?"

Alice's wide eyes snapped up to Bella as she gasped out, "blasphemous!"

"Oooookaaaaay," Bella answered slowly, not sure what major social taboo she had just partaken in. Her parents and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Henry used to recycle the Christmas decorations from one year to the next. _What was the major issue with that?_ They were family ornaments handed down from generation to generation. They held sentimental value and it was an honor to put them on the tree when the time came around each year.

Seeing the confusion written all over Bella's face, Alice tried to explain, "Each year we go with a different colored theme. Last year, everything had to be red or green. This year I decided we're going to do a silver, blue and purple theme for Christmas. I tend to try not to reuse things, unless they're really cute or of some sentimental value to the family - like the tree star. We reuse the star every year."

Bella looked over at Edward for confirmation, and watched as he just nodded. "She does this every year," he replied.

"Yes I do!" Alice confirmed, "But usually everything is up and we're in the Christmas spirit by now. I feel like I'm running so behind this year."

Having no clue what Alice was talking about, Bella inquired, "why?"

"Because the bitch brigade didn't want to go Christmas shopping on Black Friday like we usually do and they were being so damn annoying while they were here. Everybody scattered to try and avoid them so I wasn't able to put everything up two days after Thanksgiving, like usual. And now it's the 17th of December and I still haven't put anything up. I feel very…behind schedule."

"Sorry," Bella whispered, knowing that the delay was partially her fault. Alice had been helping Bella get better these past three weeks, which cut into her decorating time. Edward had told her about the help Alice had bestowed upon her while she was unconscious those two weeks, and this week the little pixie has been a God-send.

Waving her hand like it was no big deal, Alice told her, "Don't worry about it. You were more important than some stupid decorations. Now that you're better, I can focus on the decorations to help everyone feel more Christmassy. I don't know about you, but some of the people around here need to be surrounded by the Christmas cheer for the month leading up to it before they get into the Christmas spirit. They're all Scrooges I tell you!"

Alice smiled at the giggles she managed to receive from Bella, and the appreciative smile from Edward, telling her she did good making Bella laugh. She started rummaging through some of the bags, looking for something in particular.

"What are you looking for Ali?"

"Something I picked up for Bella."

When Alice came up for air, she pulled out a little polar bear stuffed animal with a small Santa hat on his head and a collar of Christmas tree light bulbs. Alice grinned triumphantly and fiddled with the bear for a moment before she turned it back to Bella to show her. The white puff on the end of the hat lit up with a white bulb while the necklace of lights lit up with red and green bulbs. Bella smiled brightly at the present as Alice handed it over to her.

"I know you like your stuffed animals. I've seen the Batman duck on your bed each time I go into your room."

"Thank you," Bella whispered appreciatively.

"It was my pleasure, Babe. I like shopping so everything works out." Alice then turned to Edward and told him "I'll need help putting everything up around the house today so if you could gather the other cronies and help me, it would be greatly appreciated. That way everything can go up quickly and you won't be tied to decorating all day. The tree will be in its usual spot in the living room. But we also need to decorate seven other floors as well."

"How about we do that after we decorate the cookies?" Edward countered.

Her eyes narrowed into a playful glare as she replied, "You drive a hard bargain, but I accept your terms. I can use these to bribe the others. I'm sure they want some of Bella's cooking, no matter what it is."

Bella blushed a bright, fire truck red as she grabbed an icing bag and filled it full of the icing she had made. Edward's hand wrapped around the back of Bella's neck and started massaging the stiff muscles there to try and get her to relax some. It worked because Bella was quickly melting into his arms, feeling like nothing more than a pile of goo.

Being quicker and more experienced with the motions, Bella frosted more cookies than Alice and Edward. with more icing and sprinkles to boot. Those that Bella frosted looked more professional than the ones they made, but she didn't mind. They would all taste the same and with a little bit more practice, they would get better. Bella's first attempt had ended like theirs did; a mess.

When all the cookies were frosted and decorated, Bella stored some in air tight containers and hid them in the back of the refrigerator so Emmett wouldn't scarf them all down. When she turned back around, Edward was licking some frosting off his fingers and Alice was already eating one of the cookies she had frosted.

Edward looked over at her, ready to offer her a cookie when he asked, "Are you okay, Little Love? You look awfully tired."

Bella nodded, but they could clearly see the fatigue. The cookie making had taken a toll on her. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Then go get some rest. Take a nap. You need your rest to stay healthy. This is your body telling you that you're trying to do too much. You go rest," Edward told her sincerely, "and I'll decorate with Alice."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked biting her lower lip.

"Please. We'll be fine," Alice told her earnestly.

"I'm sorry I can't decorate with you, guys," Bella said apologetically.

Alice waved her off with her hand and replied, "Don't worry. I wasn't going to make you to begin with. I get a little bossy and pushy when I'm in decorating mood. I didn't want to alienate you again. I took your words to heart and I realized that I tend to be a little pushy sometimes, so I've been trying to tone that back a little."

Bella smiled at her friend and nodded, "Yeah, I've noticed a difference, even during the past hour or so."

Alice looked Bella in the eye and told her, "Thank you for pointing out how pushy I was. I didn't realize just how off putting it was to those around me. I know it was hard to say what you did, but I'd like to think that only true friends would do that for one another. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."

Looking at Alice as her brows furrowed, she asked, "Did you just go all Dumbledore on me?"

Giggling, Alice nodded, "I was wondering if you were going to know I stole that from somewhere. It's good though, huh?"

Nodding, Bella giggled in return and replied, "It truly is. And just so you know… we are. Friends, that is." It took strength she didn't know she had to say those words aloud. She had never before called a person a friend for fear that it gave them the power to hurt her in return. However, Bella was trying to move past the blocks in her mind and heart and let people in. Edward, Alice; who knew who was next.

"I'm glad. Now go get some rest. The boys will be help enough, as long as I bribe them with cookies after everything gets dealt with."

Bella sniggered again before looking over at Edward, "When you're done, come wake me up. I don't want to sleep too long."

"You can count on me, Little Love. I'll come get you once Alice is finished with me," he mumbled quietly to her before kissing her forehead and letting her go.

It took hours for Alice to supervise Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper and Edward in putting up the Christmas decorations. Emmett kept the shenanigans to a minimum because Alice threatened to withhold his promised cookies if he didn't knock it off. He was happy when the decorating was done and he got his reward. He walked off munching them like the Cookie Monster; shoving whole cookies in his mouth, not even bothered that the crumbs were falling everywhere.

Collapsing on the family room couch, Edward groaned at his poor, sore muscles, which would surely hurt even more in the morning. Even though he was fit and toned, decorating had nothing on a day at the gym. He was glad decorating didn't happen every day. He'd always be aching. He told himself he would only rest for a moment before he trailed upstairs to wake Bella up as eyes slipped closed and he leaned his head back for a moment, just to rest his eyes.

Seeing him sprawled out on the couch like he was when she came down from her nap hours later, Bella quickly moved over to him and gently sat down on the couch. She couldn't be upset with him, that he hadn't roused her from her nap, when he looked that exhausted. She didn't want to disturb him, but she knew he liked it when she was close. Without opening his eyes, his arms snaked around her torso and pulled her in close to his body. She lay her hand on his chest over his heart and laid her head down atop. Her eyes stayed open as she lay there on the couch with him. And only when his soft snores floated into the room, did she know he had passed out from all the excitement of the day.

Bella carefully rose from the couch so as not to wake him and made her way into the kitchen. She quickly put all the used dishes into one of the dishwashers and turned around to box up the unused frosting when Jasper walked into the kitchen to get something to drink.

He nodded in greeting to Bella, who smiled back at him. Until now, she hadn't really had any contact with this member of the family. Bella was nervous to try and change that because Jasper was just so quiet, she didn't know where she stood with him. He didn't show much and that unnerved Bella somewhat.

"May I ask you something Bella?" He inquired. She shrugged and nodded at him, letting him know it was all right. "Do you have an aversion to me?"

"What?" Bella asked. She was bewildered. She didn't have any problems with him. She always thought he had a problem with her and that's why he stayed away.

"Did I do something to upset you?" he asked again as he poured some milk into a glass.

"No," Bella started, shaking her head, "Why would you think that?"

"You seem to avoid me. I just wanted to know why…"

Bella looked at him and bit her lower lip before revealing, "truth be told, I just didn't try to get to know you better because you always seemed to want to avoid me."

Shaking his head, his eyes found a twinkle as he spoke, "I guess we've been avoiding each other because of some misguided notions, huh?"

Nodding, Bella smiled as Alice joined them. She smiled brightly when she saw Jasper and Bella speaking and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you clean up?"

"Could you start the dishwasher?" Bella asked, giving Alice the simplest task that had yet to be done.

"Sure," she giggled as she danced over to the machine.

Trying to sort the refrigerator out so she could find some room to store the excess frosting, Bella turned her back to Jasper, Alice and the dishwasher and so she was oblivious to the beginning of the chaos. When she turned back around to speak with Alice, her eyes grew wide as saucers as she took in the scene before her.

Jasper was frantically pressing buttons to get the machine to stop running while Alice was pulling towels off the cupboard handles, trying to stem the flow of suds. The dishwasher was foaming at the mouth, spewing bubbles all over the kitchen floor, causing Jasper and Alice to slip in their efforts.

Giggling, Bella slid over to them and quickly hit the stop button that Jasper hadn't been able to find in the mayhem. He sighed a breath of relief as Alice continued to scramble, looking for more towels. Bella took some of the towels and was about to start wiping the bubbles when her foot slipped out from under her causing her to reach out for anything to stabilize her, which turned out to be Jasper, and she toppled over backwards, hauling him with her, landing on her bottom while Jasper was able to land on his hands and knees.

The pain ricocheted up her spine and down her legs as she groaned and rolled onto her side. Her face fell into the bubbles on the floor and she choked and gasped for air without the soapy taste. The soap in her eyes stung and made her eyes water.

Everything seemed to freeze for a brief second as the situation sunk in. Before long, Bella was laughing uncontrollably, despite the pain in her butt bone and the embarrassment of the situation. Beside her, she could hear Jasper chuckling lowly to himself as well.

Alice dashed out of the kitchen and returned with some bath towels to clean up the mess. She looked frazzled and worried until she saw Bella and Jasper laughing hysterically. She cracked a smile as she laid the towels out to keep anyone else from slipping. She was gathering the suds in the middle of the ring of towels when a throat cleared from behind them.

All three of them turned to see the Denali's standing there. All but Kate and her husband, Garrett, had a scowl on their faces. Bella couldn't help but giggle again. They looked so ridiculous with their hair perfectly styled, flawless makeup, and dressed to the nines in designer wear right down to the scrunchies in their hair. Bella's giggling only caused Carmen's, Irina's and Tanya's sneers to deepen.

"Alice," Tanya said, surprised to see her in the mess. Tanya's sneer transformed into a fake smile as she told her, "Alice! I'm back! Now you can help me with the masterpiece that will be my wedding. You designed your own and I want that perfection in mine. And you love helping everyone with their parties, so I expect you to help me. Everything needs to be absolutely perfect. I already have lots of ideas to run past you. But let us go get settled into our rooms before we start the planning. It's been a long flight and I need to freshen up. Give me a couple of hours and I'll bring my binder with all my ideas down here and you, the others and I can sit down and start planning everything."

Biting her lower lip, Bella smirked over at Alice, knowing she had been recruited for a job she definitely didn't want. Alice quickly made a face at Bella and replied to Tanya, "Well, actually, Bella and I are going to go work on my dress that I've been working on since Thanksgiving." Tanya's eyes shot over to Bella and her fake smile turned back into the ugly sneer. "What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to be gone by the time I got back. If I were you, I'd take my shit and leave right now before I have to drag you out by your hair. I'm finally done with school and now I've come to take my rightful place by Eddie's side as his wife. Nobody wants you here. You may as well leave before you're embarrassed when they have to spell it out for you."

"Hi to you too, Tanya. Wow, have you gained weight? You're looking a bit chunkier. I thought you said at Thanksgiving that you were watching your figure?"

Tanya gasped and looked down at her figure, running her hands down her body to make sure she was still a twig with eyeballs. She ran her hand over her hair and asked, "Are you normally so stupid and vapid? Because this is getting ridiculous; you're just kidding yourself. Why are you still here? You're clearly not who my Eddie-Poo is looking for in a wife. He needs someone strong and intelligent and beautiful and able to please him. I can do all that. I am all that. You, on the other hand, aren't. You're lame and mousy. You'll never be what he needs, so quit deluding yourself and leave. Now. Before you're escorted out by security."

Bella couldn't help the chuckle as she stared at Tanya. "Are you on medication? Because you're clearly delusional."

Alice tucked her face into Jasper's shoulder to hide the chuckle, and masked her smile with a hand as she tried to hold in her howls of laughter. Jasper, feeling her petite body shake as she tried to hold it in against his tall, lithe frame, curled his arm around her to hold her closer to him. He nodded in greeting to the family and extricated himself from Alice's arms before he excused himself to the family room to usher Edward out of the area before Tanya got a hold of him.

Alice took Bella's hand in hers and asked with an expectant look on her face, "You ready to work on the dress? You promised me last week you would help me with it?"

Realizing it was just a ploy to get out of the room, Bella nodded enthusiastically before glancing back at Tanya, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around. Don't forget to say goodbye before you leave. I want to see the door hit you in the ass on the way out." Tanya growled as she opened her mouth to lay into Bella, but Alice yanked the poor girl out of the room and over to the elevator.

"Good lord, woman," Alice giggled as the elevator doors dinged closed on them, "you know how to press her buttons. I'm glad you don't take her shit, or anyone's shit for that matter. You're giving everybody around here hope that everything will turn out all right. I don't mean to put so much on your shoulders, but seriously, before you came, everything was depressing and people always thought she was going to get her claws into him somehow and force him to marry her. He would have been so depressed and trapped… let's just say I'm so glad you're here now. I haven't seen him smile so much since I met him."

They got off on the third floor and quickly made their way to the sewing room. Alice turned on the light and told Bella, "feel free to work on your quilt. I just wanted to get you out of there before you took one of Edward's guns and shot her."

Bella giggled. "Thank you. I probably would have. You just saved her life."

Alice pressed her hands over her heart and sighed dramatically. "How unfortunate."

Getting her things out of the small storage spot, Bella quickly got into the rhythm of working with the fabric and sewing machines. Alice joined her quietly with her own sewing materials on the next sewing machine over and they worked in silence together.

Edward had retreated to his bedroom after Jasper came to warn him the Denali's were here and that, to stay out of the warpath Tanya was sure to be on. Bella and Alice had both disappeared. He had to deal with some paperwork he had been neglecting for a couple of weeks. He knew Bella would be gone for a little while, but the longer he was away from her, the more agitated he became.

When he couldn't take the distance anymore, Edward stepped out of his bedroom and around the corner where he saw Bella's bedroom door was open and the light was pouring through the doorway into the darker hallway. He smiled to himself, thinking that she had gone in and passed out on the bed from exhaustion without closing the door or turning off the light. He took another step closer to the door, to see if he could find purchase on the bed next to her, when pairs of shoes were hurled out of the room into the hallway.

Edward stopped abruptly, taking a moment to figure out what was going on, when he heard the shrill, annoying voice mutter loudly, "The skanky bitch thinks she can take my things. This is my room. This is my space. This is my family. He is mine. After I'm done, everybody'll know it. She's just a mousy little bitch, how dare she think she can come between me and my husband." His blood ran cold when he realized who it was, just in time for a drawer full of clothes to be hurled through the doorway and land haphazardly on the floor.

He stood there, watching everything Bella owned be hurled through the doorway and into the hall with a thud as it landed. He didn't know what to do but he knew he needed to do something. In a spur of the moment decision, he planned his next course of action. He knew it would be risky and would probably set Bella back, not to mention cause Tanya to go after her, but he didn't care. He would deal with the consequences later. It felt right.

When he heard Tanya growl haughtily and stomp her way down the hall to the elevator, Edward hurriedly picked up an armload of clothes and took them into his room. He quickly made a number of trips back and forth, gathered as much of Bella's stuff as possible and hauled it into his room before Tanya came back with her own suitcases to lay claim to the room.

The slamming of the door down the hall told Edward that Tanya was back with her own clothes and designer items and would spend some time putting them away before she made an appearance. He made a few quick, last trips to gather the rest of the items on the floor in the hall and brought it into his room to put with the rest of everything he salvaged from her room. Edward spent the next hour trying to fold Bella's clothes and put them in the dressers and drawers in the closet he wasn't currently using. He hung up whatever he could, put her shoes on the shoe racks, and made sure to leave the Batman duck on the bed against the pillows. Hopefully Bella would start to feel like that was her room as well as his.

When everything was put away, he dialed Bella's cell number, hoping to explain what was going on before she discovered it for herself. Edward only had to wait two rings before Bella picked up and answered with a sweet, yet confused voice, "Hello? Edward?"

"Hey, Little Love," he replied nervously. "Do you think I could talk to you for a second?"

"Um… sure… but why didn't you just come down one floor to talk to me instead of calling?" She asked hesitantly.

"It's because the Denali's are here and Tanya seems to have done something stupid. I don't want her to know that I know she did it…"

Bella giggled adorably into the receiver, "Edward, I know they're here. And that didn't make any sense at all."

"Do you know where my bedroom door is? Next to my office? Not the door next to your old room, but the one on the other side?" Edward asked hopefully.

Bella sounded nervous when she answered. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you everything, I promise, but you need to come here right now." Edward beseeched her to do as he asked.

"I'll be right up."

"Thank you, Little Love," he said.

They both hung up and little more than three minutes later, Bella walked into the room with a small, suspicious, nervous smile on her face. It grew when she saw him standing there in the middle of the room looking lost, but it fell when she noticed her Batman Duck propped up on the bed between two of the pillows. "What's going on?"

"I thought I would tell you what's going on before you find out from Tanya," he mumbled, not looking forward to seeing her reaction to what he was about to tell her.

"O…kay… so tell me," she requested slowly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his, before he watched her skeptically, wondering just how she would take it. "When you and Alice left Tanya to go sew, she came up to your room and threw all of your things out into the hallway. I managed to grab them and bring them in here…"

"Where are they now? What room am I going to be staying in from now on? Can you still visit me all the time?" She wondered aloud.

His tense shoulders relaxed a fraction. Her questions told him she wouldn't be completely opposed to the suggestion he was about to make her. "I have an idea I'd like to share with you, but you have to promise you won't interrupt before I'm done, okay?" Bella nodded quietly, allowing him to continue without interruption. "Okay, here's the thing, I brought your stuff in here. I propose you stay in here with me-" Bella opened her mouth to argue against it but Edward forged on. "Hear me out, please. You'll have your own closets and your own bathroom all to yourself. There's more room in here, room I don't need all to myself, so we can cohabitate in here and we're already sleeping in the same bed. I don't think I could sleep without you in my arms anymore. What good would it do to have you on another floor only to have to trek back and forth? There's more than enough room in here for both of us, all you have to do is say yes and we can rearrange everything, buy more things to make it feel like you live in her as well. Please, just tell me what you need to say yes."

Before Bella could answer, the door across the hall opened and shut loudly and shoes clapped against the hardwood floor down the hall from the elevator. They looked at one another until they heard the sound of the elevator doors dinging closed. As she looked at the hopeful, yet resigned face, Bella realized just how true his words rang. She couldn't fall asleep unless he was right there next to her, touching her skin, spooning her back, playing with her hair, something. She needed that as much as Edward did. She also needed to open herself up more and put herself out there.

With her answer in her mind, she looked at him and said, "If I agree to this, I only have one condition."

"Anything," Edward breathed, hopeful that she would want to move into his room with him. It would be one step closer to being near her all the time. He could come into their room at the end of a long, hard day and see her sitting in bed, reading a book or playing on the computer and just watch her with a small, peaceful smile on his face. He could wake up to her in his arms every morning. He could sit there during one of his days off and watch her stretch as she woke up. He liked the idea of sharing his personal space with her on a daily basis, even more than they already were.

Eyeing him critically, Bella named her condition. "My only stipulation is that if, at any point in time, I want to move into another room, I can, without any arguing whatsoever."

Gulping audibly with wide eyes, Edward nodded, agreeing to her provision. If that was the only thing keeping her from moving into his room permanently, he would make sure that once she did fully move in, she never wanted to leave. He would make sure she loved every moment she spent in his room so she never even entertained the thought of moving back out. He was determined to do that for the both of them.

Bella smiled at Edward shyly and nodded before telling him, "Then yes, I'll stay in here with you."

"Oh, thank God," Edward let out a relieved breath as his entire body loosened when the stress and tension fled his body on hearing her answer. "You won't regret it. I promise I'll make sure of that, every single day."

Smiling at his intense reaction, Bella moved closer to him and quietly asked, "I guess you wanted me to say yes?"

Edward nodded enthusiastically and emphatically as he scooped her up tightly in his arms, buried his nose in her hair and revealed, "Absolutely. I didn't know what I would do if you had said no."

"Sneak into my room to get to sleep every night?" she joked back.

He chuckled against her and nodded. "Probably, yeah. I can't seem to stay away from you. And I don't think I want to."

"I guess we have Tanya to thank for something after all, huh?" Bella asked looking up at Edward's face to read his expression.

His face turned sour as he answered, "I guess we have to thank her on this occasion for being a self centered bitch."

Bella giggled adorably as she tugged Edward's arm over to the bed and curled up on the left side. He climbed on the tall, yet extremely comfortable bed behind Bella and sighed as he curled around her small body protectively. He would never become accustomed to how right it felt to have her close to him, no matter how many times it happened.

The obstacle Tanya had put in their way had been dealt with. Granted, if it were up to them, it would have been handled differently, but they both realized they just needed a little push. Even though Tanya's tricks were questionable, they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. They both secretly hoped, though they knew it was highly unlikely, that her conduct would be a little bit more adult-like for the rest of her stay in Chicago. Having her here would cause some problems with the rest of the family, they were sure, and probably between the two of them, but they silently made the same promise of not allowing her to come between them. Only time would tell if that was a promise they each could keep.

"I love you, Little Love," he whispered as they settled down to take a quick nap before dealing with the She Devil and her antics.

Bella felt protected and cared for in his arms. Edward always made sure she had everything she needed and even some things she didn't. He always thought of her first and tried to make sure her life was better than before with her aunt and uncle. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she belonged somewhere. Here. With this man and his family. With Edward.

_How did she get to be this lucky? Was it chance? Was it fate? Or was it some higher deity intervening to help her for some reason?_ She didn't know and she didn't quite want to ask for fear it would all come crashing down around her like a house of cards. She was happy just to be out of the abusive place she used to call her house, and in a home that wanted her there and appreciated her talents while not focusing on her shortcomings, though there were many. It had been years since she felt this happy and in the back of her mind, the part she desperately tried to quash, something was telling her it was all just going to be short-lived, because nothing this good could last much longer.

Before she finally closed her eyes, Bella carefully slipped the ring from the chain around her neck onto her finger. "Ditto," Bella mumbled sleepily as they slipped off to sleep.

Having expected Esme, Alice, and Rosalie to join as well, Tanya joined Sculpicia, Elizabeth and Carmen in the tea room with her gigantic binder. She was disappointed they couldn't take ten minutes out of their busy schedule for their soon to be sister-in-law, but she understood they probably had things to do with their husbands and would help later on with the wedding planning when it was crunch time. She daintily sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of Earl Grey tea and added a lump of sugar, then another and stirred, tapping her tea spoon on the edge of the teacup with a tinkling noise before Elizabeth pulled out her own binder and pen and asked, "So, I think we should get started. After all, it's going to be a long couple of months."

Tanya beamed brightly at the thought of being Mrs. Edward Cullen in just a few short months. She opened her binder as Elizabeth mimicked her actions with her own. Her pen poised to write, Elizabeth asked, "All right, I just want to go over some of the details we already covered to make sure I have them correct."

"Oh, please, Elizabeth," Tanya gushed, "We wouldn't want anything to mess up my wedding day, would we?" They all giggled like a gaggle of freshman year high school cheerleaders who just heard their first dirty joke.

Elizabeth cleared her throat after a moment and asked, "You wanted the wedding to be on June 15th, correct?"

"Correct. We'll be on our honeymoon for Edward's birthday," she simpered proudly as she fixed some of her hair, making sure every strand was in its place so she looked perfect. After throwing everything out of _her_ room, she had to make sure she didn't look flustered and heaven forbid if she was sweating. She had specifically told that…mousy…child to have been gone by the time she got back, but she didn't listen. She was still there and still clinging to Tanya's future husband. Tanya went in and claimed what was rightfully hers. That room was hers. Just like the man who slept just down the hall from her room. In time the little girl would understand not to cross her because the consequences would be dire. And she best not mess with Tanya's things, her man included. Her hand smoothed back her hair one last time to make sure there were no fly-aways. Heaven forbid one strand of hair be out of place.

"Where are you going to go on your honeymoon?" Carmen asked. "I hope it's somewhere romantic."

Taking a sip of her tea, Tanya responded, "If he knows what's good for him, he'll take me to Paris."

Sculpicia and Carmen sighed happily and simultaneously cooed, "The city of love." Tanya giggled and nodded happily.

"I already have my hair style picked out," Tanya revealed to them as she turned back to her binder and flipped through to a picture of a messy up-do bun with curled tendrils hanging down strategically in the girl's face. "Wouldn't that just be perfect on me?" She asked the girls.

"Oh, absolutely. It was made just for you," Sculpicia praised, studying the picture.

Elizabeth sat forward, looking at the binder and asked Tanya, "What other things have you already picked out in there?"

"Oh, Elizabeth," the woman gushed, "You know me too well. I'm so glad you're going to be family in a few short months!" She clapped happily before getting down to business, "Just like the other girls, I'm going to have it in the church, because that's the only place big enough to hold all the guests I've decided to invite so far. I haven't decided on the reception venue as of yet. But I'm sure we have a little bit of time to pick something elegant and large. You three can come help me pick something out this weekend."

"Of course!" Sculpicia agreed wholeheartedly.

"All right, now, I've already picked out the colors for my wedding - white and baby pink. I think it's a classic color scheme, yet can still be flirty and sexy and that's exactly what I am - flirty and sexy. Everything's going to be either white or pale pink. I've already bought my garter for the big day," Tanya said as she pulled out a picture of a garter in a medium shade pink with white polka dots and thin white ribbon -in the middle, tied into a bow. "Isn't it just adorable? Eddie's going to flip when he sees it. I can't wait to surprise him with it."

"Tanya," Carmen whispered in happiness as she looked over the item in the picture carefully, "It's perfect!"

"I already ordered the invitations too," Tanya revealed as she pulled an item from her binder. This time it wasn't a picture of an invitation - it was a real invitation. "I have five thousand of these at home. I hope I made enough for all the guests. If we need to, I can always order more. The man I spoke to about the invitations gave me a really good deal and said he would give me another discount if I needed to go back. He was very nice, very accommodating to fill such a large order on short notice."

The invitation consisted of a white cardstock framed by a bottom-layered light grey heavy cardstock, wrapped with a one inch wide pastel, baby pink ribbon around the lower section of the card, with a white, satin ribbon bow centered on the pink ribbon and a fleur-de-lie at the bottom of the card stock, under the ribbons. The words were written in a beautifully elegant calligraphy in black that inscribed:

You are cordially invited to the wedding of:

Tanya Dolores Denali

With

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen

On Saturday June 15th, 2013

At one o'clock

At the Grand Central Cathedral on 15th Street

Chicago, Illinois

R.S.V.P. by April 1st, 2013

To: (555)555-0110

"It's absolutely stunning. Very elegantly crafted and the colors are perfect for your color scheme. How many people are on your guest list so far?" Elizabeth asked, writing some things down in her own binder.

"Just over two and a half thousand. I figured I'm not done with my list just yet, by the time I am, it'll be just under three thousand or so, so you and my Snookie-poo will have two thousand seats to fill, if you want them. Otherwise I can always use the extra seats if you don't use them all," Tanya responded to Elizabeth. Tanya had many friends and sorority sisters, not to mention people she wanted to gloat at or show off to that she was the future Mrs. Cullen. She wanted everybody to envy her and her beauty, prestige, fortune, and influence.

"I don't know if that'll be enough," Elizabeth mumbled to herself as she wrote something down. "What else do you have in there?"

"Well, I've decided that in the church, I want the pews decorated with white and pink roses along with matching ribbons to make a walk way down the center aisle. And I want a dark pink carpet like I'm either royalty or a movie star and I want a flower girl, who's old enough to know not to screw up, to spread pink and white petals all over the walk way. Then in the reception room, I want the chairs to be draped in white cloth and then a pink sash to adorn each, that wraps around the back part and then ties into a big bow in the back to unify the colors."

"That sounds so magical," Carmen sighed as she pictured it all in her head.

"Thank you. I already have the veil. It's at home. It covers the back with my hair but not my face. I want my Eddie to see me shining like the sun on my wedding day. It's three feet long and around the edges it's adorned with a shiny pink ribbon. It's almost opaque, but still slightly translucent. It's perfect to show off my body and hair."

"All right," Elizabeth stated, needing to get the big items for the wedding out of the way early so they could focus on the small details to make everything spectacular. "What about the attire? Have you put much thought into that?"

"Of course I have, Elizabeth," Tanya replied as she turned the page and handed a picture to Elizabeth. "That's going to be my wedding dress. I already have it on hold. I went in for my first fitting last week and my last fitting is in a few months time. I wanted to get a jump start on it. I wanted something that showcases my legs, they're super long going for miles as some people say- and I wanted them to shine that day."

Elizabeth looked down at the photograph and saw Tanya standing on a mending pedestal wearing an ivory white gown. The neckline was a V neck that went down to the middle of her cleavage, with the straps about half an inch wide. Over the bodice, instead of opaque fabric, it was almost translucent, only showing the whalebone supports throughout the garment. There was a fancy design all over the bodice. Just at the hips, the skirt started with the opaque fabric again. The front of the skirt landed mid thigh, in all its ruffled glory, while it turned into a long train in the back. The ruffles were all over the place so the dress looked like a gigantic marshmallow puff, but none of the girls even thought that.

"I saw it and I knew that was the dress I was going to wear on my wedding day. It's sexy and flirty and showcases all my different, perfect attributes while still being appropriate for the church and the stuffy priest that'll be doing the ceremony. Isn't it just perfect? I bet Eddie's not going to know what hit him. He'll be completely speechless and maybe even forget his vows!" she gushed excitedly at having and holding Edward's attention.

"It is perfect. I can't wait to see you in it in person, Tanya," Sculpicia murmured looking at the picture of her best friend beaming in the photograph, wearing the perfect dress for the occasion. It emanated Tanya's personality completely and Sculpicia was pleased that her best friend had found her dress so quickly.

"As for the bridesmaid dresses, I chose this one," Tanya pulled out another picture and showed it to the other girls, "I figured since it was going to be summer and hot, I went with something short and breezy."

The strapless dresses were almost neon pink with soft, floaty skirts that stopped just past the knees, and gathered bodices. Just under the chest area, the fabric pulled together and looked like it clipped with three rhinestones.

"Who are your bridesmaids going to be?" Carmen asked, curiously. She knew it wouldn't be her; Elazear and Carmen were going to walk Tanya down the aisle since her parents couldn't do it themselves. She was looking forward to giving her friend and sister-in-law away to the man she loved the most in the world.

"Scully, Irina and Maria," Tanya answered with a roll of her eyes like it was a stupid question to ask. At hearing her nickname, Sculpicia squealed and wrapped her arms around Tanya's shoulders in a tight hug.

"Thank you!" Sculpicia squealed again in happiness. She knew Tanya would probably choose her because she was Tanya's best friend but it still was such an honor to be chosen as one of her bridesmaids. She was so happy she could be a part of Tanya's big day.

"Don't mention it," Tanya said as she waved her hand as if it were nothing. "I've already determined what I want my Eddie-bear to wear." She pulled another picture out and showed it to Elizabeth.

"The pink of his tie and the vest will compliment the color scheme very nicely. And with the darker pink of the rose that will be pinned to his lapel, it's sure to will stand out against the black suit properly; brightly. The vest and tie will show just a hint of the pink in the lights of the church. The bouquet I'll be carrying down the aisle is already ordered. It has white and pink roses with just a touch of greenery. It has almost two dozen pink flowers and two dozen white ones arranged in a teardrop. It's large and elegant and perfect for me."

"Oh, it all sounds so beautiful, Tanya. I can't wait to see how perfect it all looks when it's put together. It's going to be the wedding of the century. Everybody's going to be talking about it for years and years to come," Elizabeth crowed, pleased with the decisions her future daughter-in-law had taken upon herself to make.

Tanya giggled and nodded enthusiastically, "I know. Every bride to come is going to be comparing themselves to my beauty, and their pitiful wedding to my perfect one! I can just see it all now. It's going to be a story-book wedding and an even better 'happily ever after,' you'll see. Eddie and I are going to be perfect. I just know it. Nothing is going to ruin our day, the day we've been waiting for, for so long."

"Have you already decided on a cake? The style, type of ingredients and the flavoring?" Sculpicia asked inquisitively.

"Of course. I went to a professional cake maker and decided on a white cake with strawberry whipped cream filling with a white butter cream and fondant decoration. There are four different cakes all connected to the central one. The four outer ones are four tiers tall with fancy, classic icing details while the middle one is going to be nine tiers with the same detailing. There's going to be pink sugar flowers around the cakes to pull in the color scheme while still being classic. And on the very top, I've already bought the cake topper," she pulled out a picture and showed the others. "Everything else is classic and perfect and everything, but I wanted something flirty and fun added into my wedding and reception, so I got this one."

The picture was of a small male sculpture in a black suit with a pink tie and copper hair, standing, while the female sculpture had her legs wrapped around the man's waist as the back of her dress touched the floor. Her arms were around his neck and they were kissing. The woman had strawberry blonde hair and the veil went down to the middle of her back. His hands were on her butt to hold her up and they looked so happy and cute together.

"That's perfect!" Carmen crowed excitedly, taking the picture from her sister-in-law to study it closer. "And they even look like you and Edward!"

"I know," Tanya responded smugly to the others. She gloated to them about how resourceful she was and how well she thought things through, not to mention how well she managed to talk people into doing things for her. "I had someone change the hair color to match so everybody would know that we're meant to be together."

"That's a wonderful idea," Elizabeth mentioned.

"Isn't it?" Tanya stated. "And for the reception tables, I already have the pastel pink napkins that will hold the menus and we can always go get the silverware and glasses if the reception hall doesn't cover that. I have the little votive candle holders, they're bright pink and beautifully compliment the other décor I'm planning to put as the centerpieces. I bought these beautiful tea light glass pillars that are very versatile. If I decide to, I can put some fresh pink and white roses in before the reception and then put the candles in and light them or I can put other decorations and customize them to my wedding. There's elegance to the idea that I wanted in my wedding reception. It's all going to come together perfectly. Then around the pillars, I can put some rose petals to make it more timeless and whimsical. I even have some more clear tea light holders to put around the center. I have a silver plated picture frame that I'm going to have engraved with the table number and the picture will be one of either my Snookie-Bear and me, or just me."

"Have you come up with a menu already, or are you still coming up with it?" Carmen asked looking at a paper in her binder.

"I have. The menus that will be placed on the pink napkins I already told you about, well, I decided what I wanted for the menu and had them all made up, all five thousand of them and we can always print up more. Here," Tanya declared happily as she pulled out the menu she had already designed.

The menu was printed on white cardstock to match the invitations, with a medium shade of pink border around the edge that matched the invitation's pink ribbon on the lower half and the words:

Mr. Edward Cullen and Mrs. Tanya Cullen invite you to dine tonight from the following menu choices:

**Drinks:**

Champagne

De La Grand Cru Cote Nuit Romanee Conti Vosne Burgundy- 1973

Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru Le Puligny Cote DeBeaune Burgundy- 2000

Open Bar

Sparkling Water

Mint Tea

**Main Dishes:**

Seafood Tower

Lobster

Crab

Scallops

Prime Rib

Chicken

**Side Dishes:**

Rice

Shrimp Salad

Baked Potato

Steamed Vegetables

Cut Fruit

Caviar

**Desserts:**

Baked Alaska

Crepes

Ice Cream

Bread Pudding

Cherry Flambé

Tiramisu

"This wine you've mentioned," Elizabeth asked pointing to the two specific drinks, "What is it? I've never heard of them before."

"Well, I've already bought a hundred and fifty of each kind. The first one, the 1975 one, is a Pinot Noir and is supposed to be one of the best tasting wines in the world. It's $8,502.13 per bottle. The second one, the 2000 one is a Chardonnay and is the best white wine in the world. It goes for $72,000 a bottle. I'm going to make sure the waiters know that only certain people, the important people, get that wine. I want everyone to be impressed, but the lesser people won't know the difference. Everyone who attends will be in awe of how wonderful everything is, including the wine that most people overlook. I can't wait to see everyone's face when they see we spared absolutely no expenses on anything."

"I think everyone will appreciate that. Most people try and save wherever they can on weddings, but if you're going all out, then people will really see that. Especially with the food and wine, it's all so lavish," Carmen agreed, looking forward to having some expensive wine. Her palate had always run high, so when her sister-in-law decided to buy lavish things for her, she didn't complain at all.

Elizabeth marked something off on the checklist in her binder and asked, "Have you made a decision on which ring you were going to go with for your engagement ring and wedding rings from the pictures that I sent you? They're from Edward's inheritance from his grandparents and great grandparents. They're all heirlooms and have been in the family for generations. They're all stored in his vault."

"Really?" the others asked, surprised. Carmen and Tanya didn't know the extent of the jewelry that Edward had in the vault. The pictures that Elizabeth had sent them were of just the rings. Tanya immediately started to wonder what other kinds of diamond encrusted jewelry Edward had that he would adorn her with once they were married.

"Well, at first I narrowed it down to white diamond, because the colored stones simply cannot be as expensive as diamond and I deserve the best. Then the three that I saw, I narrowed down to two, because one of them, the main diamond just looked too…small. Finally I decided I want the square cut diamond that's fifteen karats, with the smaller diamonds all around with the platinum setting. It's simply stunning and it was the biggest diamond within the choices. I must have the best with everything; anything less is not an option."

As they were flipping through some of the other pictures of items Tanya had bought or wanted for the wedding, Edward and Bella walked in looking rumpled and sleepy as if they had just woken from a nap. The women all looked up and smiled at Edward, but when their eyes caught sight of Bella, the little girl trying to steal the man of one of their own, their faces turned sour, trying to intimidate her into leaving the room so they could sink their claws into Edward and never let go.

Tanya could instantly tell this mousy girl that was attached to Edward would be a problem. The girl would create issues and stand between Tanya and her man. Tanya determined she needed to deal with the insignificant, delusional girl quickly and once and for all. The stink she put up at Thanksgiving was pathetic at best. One more day and she wouldn't want to be here with the way she would be treated. Tanya was going to make sure of that if it was the last thing she ever did.

Tanya turned her calculating gaze back to Edward and smiled brightly, "Snookiepoo!" she simpered as she batted her eyelashes. "I was just going over the different things I've already ordered for my wedding. They're all so perfect, everyone thinks so!"

With a stoic face, Edward turned to her and asked, "That's great, Tanya. Who's the groom?"

Tanya giggled annoyingly and swatted at his side, "Don't be silly, Pookie! You are, obviously! I deserve the best and you're the best." She turned to Elizabeth and gushed, "Always such a joker with me. I swear, he's the funniest person I've ever met." The other girls giggled at Tanya like the annoying cheerleaders every high school has.

"We've already come up with most of the bigger items, son," Elizabeth told her youngest as she flipped through the design binder Tanya had brought with her. All Edward and Bella could see was varying shades of pink.

"Ungh!" Bella said making a disgusted face at the pictures that caught her eyes, "Did Barbie throw up or something? It looks like a bunch of Pepto Bismol was thrown all over the place. You might not want to use that with the cake, it might make people sick... you know."

Everyone at the table turned to Bella, in unison, like the girl in The Exorcist, minus the vomit, and glared as if looks could kill. If they were able to put people in the ground, Bella would be six feet under by now. Edward tried to hide his chuckle as Bella looked around at the girls and asked, "What? It does. And really? Who would ever need a menu like that? Talk about hoity toity snooty."

Tanya growled lowly in her throat and asked in a threatening tone, "what are you still doing here? I thought I told you to be gone?"

"Yeah," Bella nodded looking completely at ease, "You did, but apparently I don't listen to design whores like you. Who knew?"

Edward's chuckles escaped and Elizabeth turned her shrewd eyes on her son before asking, "Is there something funny about this inconsiderate, lowly, white trash girl speaking ill of your fiancé, Edward?"

Turning his gaze to his mother, Edward's smile never faded when he told his mother, "the fact that you think Tanya, here, is my fiancé's pretty funny."

"I beg your pardon? You all but announced your engagement at Thanksgiving when we sat down to eat. The engagement announcement and picture go to the papers tomorrow to be printed in Monday morning's Chicago Tribune. Don't be stupid, Edward."

The smile fell from Edward's lips as he stared right back at his mother. This time she wasn't going to get her way. He was staying with Bella no matter what games she pulled. He wasn't going to give up the best thing that ever happened to him for his mother. And he wasn't going to give up the best thing that had ever happened to him for the shrew his mother expected him to marry. There was no way in hell that was going to happen in this lifetime.

"Mother," Edward enunciated clearly to get it across to his mother, "I am not, nor will I ever marry Tanya. I do not like her. I do not love her. No matter what you say or do, you will never get me to do that. It would be worse than death. Marrying Tanya would be cruel and unusual punishment and I am not about to bow down to you just because you think you can control my choices like you have been all my life. It's never going to happen."

Straightening her spine and narrowing her eyes into a malicious glare, Elizabeth responded in a slow, but angry voice, "Yes, Son, you will marry Tanya. You and she have been promised to one another since you were in high school. You are expected to marry her and you will do on so June fifteenth of next year."

"No, Mother, I won't," Edward argued.

"Yes, you will," Elizabeth replied as she turned back to the design book and asked Tanya in a friendly voice, "so, what about the music? Have you thought about the music you want at the reception yet?"

"No, not yet, but I was thinking some Miley Cyrus and some Britney Spears-" Tanya responded enthusiastically, ignoring the brief altercation.

"I'm not marrying Tanya, Mother. Plain and simple," Edward interrupted, growling at his mother.

Bella stood back, eager not to get in the middle of a mother and son spat. She wanted to be in the background where nobody would try and attack her, either verbally or physically. She was there to support Edward, but only get involved if need be. Elizabeth was scary when she didn't get what she wanted and right now was a perfect example. She wanted her son to marry the gold digging ho, but Edward wasn't about to cave in to those demands. Bella was scared of what Elizabeth would do when she found out about her and her son. _It is not going to be pretty._ Bella was prepared for it to get ugly, she just didn't know if she should plan for bloodshed or not.

"Yes, you will Edward. I have done everything in my power to get you the best of the best every single step of the way. Tanya is beautiful and is going to make sure you're never unhappy. I have given you years of my life, making sure you were taken care of; making sure you had clothes on your back and food in your stomach. The least you can do is marry Tanya and make me happy. She's perfect for you and she'll make the perfect wife for you."

"No, Mother," Edward countered. "She's vapid and shallow and I've heard she spreads her legs for anyone that has two legs, including women; she'll give it up to anyone who can give her what she wants. All she wants is for someone to take care of her. She wants to sit at home while I go make money so she can spend it on frivolous crap she doesn't need, only to impress others with what she bought. She wants someone to make her happy, influential, important, and wealthy. She wants the name. She's a gold digger and I refuse to marry her. I want someone smart; she's clearly not if she thinks I'm going to marry her. I want someone I love. I want someone who loves me. She doesn't, she just loves the money, the name and the prestige. She'd be out, the day of our wedding, cheating on me. I neither want, nor need someone like that as my wife.

"I won't throw my life away for the whiney, two year old witch you think would be perfect for me. I will not marry the woman, Mother, out of principle and the law. The authorities are already down my throat. I will not practice bigamy, nor do I want two wives."

Edward stopped short as he realized what he'd just revealed.

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><p><strong>AN: THE ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! (Well, to date). I decided to split it into two parts, so the good news is, you'll be getting the other half relatively soon. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days.**

**Sorry for the cliffy, the next part is already written and sent to my beta's so it should be out in the next couple of days. I've never written a cliffy before.**

**A gazillion thanks to TwiSNFan for being my beta and working with my flaws to make something coherent that people can understand. You really don't know how great you are. None of this would be possible if it weren't for you. TwiSNFan is the reason why this story is on here. She and Debbie S. In Florida are the only reasons I was finally able to get past my fears of bad reviews, writers block and horrible writing and post something. Thank you! Go thank them if you like this story. They're the reason for it.**

**I know I said I would get it out within a few days of chapter 9, but I completely forgot it was Easter this past Sunday and I figured I'd let my beta have the weekend off. A happy, well rested beta is essential. Besides, I wanted to be mice since she was off to visit the family.**

**The reviews I got for chapter 9 were absolutely hilarious. I never realized just how…connected a person could be with a character until I put Tartya (to quote Clancy Jane) into the story. I am still so amazed by how big of a response to this story I've gotten. Thank you, all who review, you don't know just how much it means to the author.**

**Leave a review if possible and let me know how I'm doing. What resonated with you during the chapter? I want to know what you think about the chapters because they give me an idea of where to take this. None of it was written before hand so I'm muddling through it as I go. Who knows, with your permission, I may use some of the suggestions you leave in a review later on during the story. I thank everyone who has reviewed. You're amazing.**

**Please keep in mind, constructive criticism is most welcomed, even encouraged, but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one and nobody learns from anything. Thank you!**

**I hope you stay safe and stay happy. Don't worry… Be Happy. Don't worry, be happy now… (Talking fish! Heheh, now that song's going to be stuck in your head the rest of the day).**

**Jo.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm still not SM, and I still don't own Twilight, shucks, I know.**

**And here is the second half of the longest chapter in the world. I'll see you all below since nobody ever reads these things-**

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><p>Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at her son as she asked, "And who are you supposedly married to now? Huh? Quit lying, Edward. I taught you never to lie to me."<p>

Edward sighed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair, pulling the ends slightly. "I'm not lying, Mother. I am married. I have been married for three months now. I love her. She's who I want. We were made for each other, we complete each other. Insert any other clichéd saying you want to here, I can because we're perfect for each other."

"What?" all four women shrieked, jumping up from their chairs causing them to fall backwards to the floor. They all looked horrified at this revelation. Tanya was furious and murderous that she was going to be his second wife, instead of first.

"No. No. No! I did not allow this!" Elizabeth shrieked loudly.

Shaking his head, Edward continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "If you had been involved with my life at all, Mother, I would have told you sooner. But you haven't been. You've been too busy trying to control the perfect wedding the past few months to even care about me or what's been going on in my life."

"Oh, so this is entirely my fault now?" Elizabeth asked incredulously. "I am your mother! How could you do this to me? Embarrass me in front of family and friends, and make me a laughing stock. How dare you!"

"Easily," Edward responded, getting furious with his own mother and her scheming antics. He had had enough of it. It was going to stop now, once and for all. "You think you can control every little detail, Elizabeth, when you can't. I'm a grown man and I can make choices on my own, without you holding my hand or telling me what to do. If you don't like my choices, that's fine. They're mine to make, not yours. But don't you dare stand there and tell me what I can and cannot do with my own God-damned life. You have absolutely no say in anything from now on and you brought it on yourself. If you keep going in this manner, I hope you can live with yourself once you have driven your son away with your manipulative ways."

Elizabeth simply stood there, her face gaping like a fish, yet turning an odd puce color in her anger. Tanya's was quite similar as she snarled out, "and who is the little tart that you supposedly married? I want to see her and tell her that she can't have what's mine. Who do I have to kill?"

Edward's head whipped to Tanya so fast it gave Bella whiplash just watching him. "If you touch a hair on Bella's head I will hunt you down and kill you myself. I've never hurt a woman before, but I'll make an exception for you."

Tanya's eyes sliced over to Bella's. Her gaze was murderous as she looked at the little brunette from head to toe. When her eyes caught something glittering on her left hand, her eyes cut back down and saw one of the rings she had seen in the photographs Elizabeth had sent to her; one of the rings that belonged to Edward.

The ring had a gigantic, ten carat purple teardrop stone in the center encased with small, half carat clear diamonds, set in 24 carat yellow gold. Half carat diamonds were inlaid in the gold around the band. It was beautiful and large; nowhere as large as Tanya's desired ring, but large nonetheless.

She sneered at the Plain Jane and asked, "You got the amethyst ring? How ordinary. Mine is going to be a fifteen carat white diamond, in platinum. As soon as he signs those divorce papers you're going to give me my ring back."

Edward cut in, in an attempt to divert the attention away from Bella. "First, I won't be signing any divorce papers. Second, you will never be getting a ring from me. Third, it's not amethyst, it's a natural purple diamond; a very rare color, cut and size so it's worth more than that white diamond. And fourth, this ring is staying where it is, on Bella's finger, right where it belongs."

"But Snookie-Pookie, she's trying to take you for all you're worth," Tanya pouted with flirty puppy dog eyes as she stuck out her bottom lip annoyingly.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Tanya. I don't like you. I never have liked you and I never will like you. Get it through your head already. You must be delusional if you think I'll dump the best thing that's ever happened to me for your sorry, skanky, disease ridden ass." A shiver ran up Edward's spine at the thought. He looked back at Bella and smiled as he held out his hand for her to take. She did without hesitation and followed him quietly out of the room.

Everything was deathly quiet in the tea room for a long moment. The four women looked at one another before they all jumped into action and rushed towards the elevator making a beeline for Edward Senior's office. They wanted to see what they could do to get Edward out of that awful marriage. _There was no way they could last together._ Edward and Bella would be divorced by the end of the day if Tanya and Elizabeth had anything to say about it. And they did…they had lots to say.

Edward Senior was sitting at his desk when his wife, daughter-in-law, Tanya and Carmen stormed through his office door, and he looked up from his paperwork at the crazed looking women standing before him. He was staring at them when Rose slunk into the room and sat down in one of the chairs - a giddy smirk on her face and a bowl of popcorn in her hand. He raised his eyebrow in question at the woman.

Rose shrugged and told him, "I just heard. I wasn't going to miss this." She started popping the popcorn in her mouth as she and Senior turned their eyes back to the four irate women in his office, breathing fire.

"Care to share why you're interrupting me while I work?" He asked as he set the file folder down on his desk and leaned back in the comfortable, black leather chair. He knew exactly why they were there, but he was going to make them say it.

"Would you care to share why my last son got married without my knowing about it?" Elizabeth seethed.

Raising an eyebrow, Edward Senior asked, "Without your knowing so? Or without your approval? Liz, he's twenty five years old. He's not a child you can control anymore. He has his own life to live. And you would know that if you and Sculpicia were around more often, instead of going off, gallivanting around in the high end boutiques, buying God knows what. If you were around the house more often, you would have seen how the relationship evolved and blossomed between the two, but you haven't been. You've been selfish and stuck up and I'm sick of everything. You complain when nobody tells you something big that happened, yet when you find out you think you can control the people with a simple look. That's why nobody tells you anything anymore."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to yell at her husband when Tanya interrupted with a screech, "Aren't you going to do anything about this? She obviously tricked him to get the money and jewelry! She stole him away from me! He's mine! Did you see he gave her one of the family rings? He was supposed to give them to me!"

"Ed, make him sign the papers and everybody will be happy," Elizabeth reasoned.

Edward Senior looked into the cold, uncaring eyes of his wife and asked, "And have you ever seen your son happy, Elizabeth? Would you even know what happiness looked like on him? I bet you don't because he's always been miserable-"

"He's miserable now!" Tanya screamed loudly. "Can't you see the way he looks at me with longing? He loves me and wants me! He doesn't want to be married to that shrew another second so he can be with me! The marriage is awful! They won't last much longer! You need to deal with the tart once and for all so I can marry him and take my rightful place as his wife!"

Edward Senior turned his hardened glare to Tanya and told her, "I do not need to do anything, let alone for you. I am not going to force Edward to sign any papers because if you really look at him, I mean really, really look at him," he turned his gaze over to his wife again to address her before continuing, "You'll be able to see he's finally happy for the first time in his life. Bella makes him happy. I'm not about to ruin that for him."

Snarling, Elizabeth addressed her husband again, "If you know what's good for you, Ed, you'll have the papers drawn up and signed by the end of the day. I refuse to have my son married to that nobody downstairs that weaseled her way into this house somehow and now won't leave. This is my house and I will not stand to have her here. Tanya will be Edward's wife. They've had an arranged marriage for years now. What will everyone think when this gets out? The freeloader downstairs will sign the papers and be out of this house by sundown otherwise-"

Shooting up out of his chair, Edward Senior snarled as he placed his hands on the top of his desk and leaned over on them, getting right into Elizabeth's face, "Otherwise what, Elizabeth? Huh? What could you possibly do to me that would have any effect?"

Rose sat quietly, observing everything - from reactions to eye twitches, to snarls. She was in seventh heaven as she popped the popcorn into her mouth and chomped down happily. _Family drama, when you weren't involved personally, was priceless and so humorous._

Elizabeth studied her husband's reaction to what she had said and realized there was something different about this girl. Never before had she seen Edward Senior behave like this, especially over another person. He was fiercely protective towards the girl for some reason and she wanted to know why. _What did the mousy little tart have that Tanya didn't? What could she do that Tanya didn't excel at?_ No matter which way Elizabeth looked at it, the situation didn't make sense to her.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her husband, wishing the simple act could give her some clarity, when Tanya opened her mouth again.

"Do something!" she simpered pathetically towards Elizabeth.

Edward Senior turned on the whining girl and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that your voice is like nails on a chalkboard? Personally I'm glad I don't ever have to put up with you for more than two weeks every Christmas. I never approved of Edward and you and I'm so glad you'll never be part of the family. I don't like gold digging sluts. You're free to leave any time if you don't like it here," he motioned to the door.

Gasping, Tanya, Carmen, Sculpicia and Elizabeth all cupped their hands over their mouths outraged that he would have the audacity to think such things, let alone say them. Rose bounced in her chair happily, briefly channeling Alice, as she continued to eat the popcorn, entirely too engrossed in the drama unfolding before her.

"Listen to me very carefully, all of you," Edward Senior stated looking sternly at each of the women before him to get his point across, "If any of you do anything to either Edward or Bella that I deem questionable, I'll have no qualms in causing severe problems for any and all of you, if I have to. They're happy together. Tanya, you're clearly delusional and will never marry Edward so get over it. Elizabeth, get off your high horse. You cannot control people into doing what you want them to do. Carmen, you will never be family so I'd start paying off those loans you just took out because you won't be getting any money from the Cullen's and Sculpicia, you need to lose the thought of ever calling Tanya family because even if for some reason Bella and Edward are no more, neither Edward nor I will ever allow this to come to fruition. I like Bella and Edward together. They complement each other and they're happy, and seeing them happy with one another is everything I need to know about it. If I hear any of you have tried to disrupt that, you will pay dearly. All of you need to get your heads out of your asses and think about Edward here, since you all so clearly care for him," he snarked the last part sarcastically at the four women. "Quit being so selfish, condescending and childish and recognize he's doing what he wants and needs to to be happy, and go about your own merry fucking way."

"But that's supposed to be my ring," Tanya whined as she stomped her foot like a two year old and crossed her arms across her chest. "She already moved out of her room for me. She knows I'm going to get Edward to myself in the end, she's just being petulant. I want my family's ring off her finger now. It doesn't belong to her. It belongs to me."

"Get out of my sight before I crush your skull," Senior snarled at the whiney brat.

She yelped and quickly scurried out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Edward Senior stood there, still hovering over his desk, glaring at the three other women who had barged into his office. They turned and followed Tanya out quickly.

He sighed and sat back down in his desk chair heavily before looking over at Rose. He sighed again and ran his hands over his face tiredly before running them through his hair like his youngest. "How's she doing?" he asked her quietly.

Shrugging, Rose offered the last little bit of her popcorn to Edward Senior and replied, "She's okay, she's tagging around close to Edward right now."

Taking the small handful, Senior inquired, "Is it true what Tanya said, about her moving out of the room she was in?"

Rose shook her head and said, "No. Edward told Jasper, who told Carlisle, who told Emmett who in turn told me that when they got here this afternoon Tanya had words with Bella in the kitchen then rushed up to the room and literally threw all her things out into the hallway to move her own skanky designer label shit into the room."

Edward Senior's features darkened as he angrily asked, "and where are Bella's things now?"

Rose smiled brightly at the man before telling him, "Edward moved everything into his room, and I guess that's where she agreed to stay for the time being; in his room with him."

Shaking his head, Edward Senior laughed and, though he knew the answer, asked, "I take it Tanya doesn't know the turn of events as of yet?"

"Nope," Rose chirped.

"I'd love to see the look on Tanya's face when she realized she brought that on herself," he replied leaning back in his chair.

Rose nodded and smiled as she answered, "I would too."

"Let the others know to keep an eye on Tanya, Bella and Edward. I don't trust the Denali's as far as I can throw them. The four that were in here earlier are going to try something. I can feel it. It's not going to be good."

"You know it," Rose nodded. "I'll pass it on to watch them carefully."

"Thank you," Edward Senior replied sincerely.

"Anytime. Edward and Bella are family and we protect family, right?"

Nodding, Edward Senior glanced over at a smiling Rose. "What?"

"It's nice to see the changes she's brought in everyone. It's almost like we're a family now. We have our spats, but we're all intertwined somehow. She brought the last missing piece to this place and turned everyone from lonely beasts into human princes. I know I've seen a major change in all of you, but you, Emmett and Edward especially. It's almost like…now you care… I know you cared before, in your own, special way, but now she's teaching us all to care about others. She's showing us how to."

The small smile on Edward Senior's lips wouldn't have been there before the dark haired beauty showed up and wed his son. But now, it was almost constantly on his face. He had noticed a change for the better in himself and he liked it. For someone who didn't know how to show their love, Bella was indeed teaching everyone around her how to love and appreciate others. "I think sometimes we need a reminder of those around us and she's just that - our reminder."

Rose smiled and nodded before standing up. "You're probably very busy. I'll leave you to your work."

She left his office, shutting the door gently and took the elevator down to the bottom floor of the apartment where she knew she would find the others. Elazear passed her, looking like a bull ready to charge, and she had to quickly side step him as he plowed through the hallway to the elevator. Rose stepped into the family room just as Tanya went to lunge at Bella. Bella thought quickly and stepped behind Edward for some protection, believing the insane woman wouldn't dare to try and attack her and risk hurting Edward. But Bella was too close to the love of Tanya's life.

Tanya realized the mouse of a girl didn't want to fight physically. She filed it away for later to mull over how that would work to her advantage. She was going to have Edward by the time she left the house, she was sure of that.

"That's my God-damned ring you little bitch! Give it back to me or I'll fucking kill you! It's mine! You don't deserve it! I do!"

"You'd better back away from my wife and me, Tanya," Edward growled.

Looking up at him, Tanya batted her eye lashes and smiled coquettishly as she responded, "Don't worry my little Snooki-Wookie, this little tart won't have my ring for much longer. I would never hurt you." She ran her hand up his bicep and stepped in closer, causing him to step back. "You're much too important to me to hurt."

"You need to go see a doctor, Tanya," Edward tried to explain.

Batting her eyelashes, Tanya shook her head and told him, "Don't worry my little Pookiebear, I'm on birth control. We can go at it like rabbits and be as loud as we want."

"No Tanya," Edward was thoroughly disgusted with the woman and just wanted her off him. "I'm talking about a shrink. You need to be on some heavy duty antipsychotics or something because you're clearly so delusional they could certify you. Now stay away from me and my wife."

"But-"

"No buts, bitch. Back off," Rose growled as she entered further into the room to save both Bella and Edward from the skank with a million and one STD's. Tanya screamed and stomped her foot like a child not getting their way before she stormed off somewhere.

"You okay, Little Love?" Edward asked, turning around to check on Bella.

Nodding, Bella whispered back, "I normally wouldn't have hidden behind you, but I'm pretty tired right now."

Edward chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Bella's shoulders, pulled her in close to his chest and replied, "I don't blame you. She terrifies me on a good day."

Elazear rounded the corner en the seventh-floor hallway and slammed open Edward Senior's door. Realizing he wasn't fated to get any work done today, Edward Senior sighed, tossed the file down on his desk and looked up to see Elazear standing there with a burgundy colored face and blazing eyes. "And how may I help you this fine afternoon, Elazear?"

"What the hell did you do to my sister? She's down stairs screeching and crying about some slut taking her man and how you wouldn't help her."

"Well, you're both right about one thing, Elazear. I cannot do anything about the situation."

"After everything I've ever done for you, this is how you repay me? You can't even take down one simple girl?"

Eyes flashing with rage, Edward stared Elazear down before lowly growling out, "You forget your place, Elazear. It is not what you have done for me. It is what I did for you. When your parents died, I made sure you kept your sisters. I made you part of this business so you could support all five of you. I made sure you climbed in the ranks. I do not owe you anything. If Edward wants to stay married to the girl, I will not do anything about it and I expect you to heed my wishes, lest you succumb to a terrible, unforeseen accident."

"Edward married someone else!" Elazear bellowed. "He was supposed to marry Tanya! They have been promised to one another for years! They were set to get married this June now that all the stipulations have been met. We were supposed to be joining the family together as a stronger, united one. How can you sit back and allow some stupid tramp come between us? As a family and as a business?"

"It has nothing to do with business, Elazear," Senior replied as he shut the file and stowed it in the top drawer of his desk. "I have never once promised Edward to marry another. The words have never left my lips in all the years I have been alive. You, along with everyone else just assumed that they would be wed because she wanted him. He never wanted anything to do with her. But because she was a spoiled brat and expected to get what she wanted, she started the rumor that they were to be wed. I had no intention of ever forcing my son to marry your sister, even if this new girl hadn't come into play when she did."

"They need an annulment, a divorce, something. You cannot make Tanya look like the laughing stock of the upper east coast. I will not stand for it."

"I will not force him to do anything against his will. He made a decision to marry the girl and I will not have him go breaking those promises to her, nor will I force him to do something he desperately has no desire to," Edward Senior stated calmly as possible as he held the tongue lashing.

"But Edward deflowered Tanya!" Elazear shouted back.

Laughing boisterously, Edward Senior asked through the peals of laughter, "She told you that?"

Becoming more and more angry, Elazear responded, "Yes. Why are you laughing?"

"That's preposterous! I've accidentally walked in on her multiple times during the times we've been vacationing together. She was sexually active when she was twelve! You actually expect me to believe that Edward was her first? Now that's funny."

"This is no laughing matter! He led my sister on! He used her! She was only twelve, which would have put him at fourteen. She was just a child who succumbed to the peer pressure your son was heaping on her. She did what she did because she thought that would mean they would get married-"

"Save the lies, Elazear." Edward Senior sobered quickly, and growled at the son of his long time friend. "If it were any other subject, you would be shot for such lies. As it is, I know for a fact she gave it up to Tommy Johnson first and that Edward would never touch her with a ten foot pole, let alone his pole. Either you're full of shit and you're lying to me or Tanya's full of shit and lying to you. I know for a fact that what you just said happened, didn't. He was out of town at the boarding school that summer. The entire summer. All of you arrived after he was gone and left before he returned and you didn't come for the holidays that year because it was the year your parents jetted you off to Cannes. So don't you dare try to fucking lie to me, Elazear. I hate liars."

"No," Elazear refused, shaking his head adamantly, "I refuse to believe what you're trying to pass off as the truth. Edward tainted my baby sister and now I'm here to demand he does something about it to make an honest woman out of her."

Standing up, Edward Senior replied, "Get over yourself, Elazear, it didn't happen. Even if it did, it was over thirteen years ago. You can't prove it so why should we even consider meeting what you demand? And it isn't the Middle Ages where a woman has to be a virgin when she gets married to be considered a lady. I won't make Edward do anything against his wishes. He's happy and that's what I want for him. You have no standing here to demand things from me or my family so I suggest you think before you speak. I would tread carefully here if I were you. Tanya will never marry Edward. Edward does not want to ever marry Tanya. Edward is happy where he is. He is happy with who he's with. I will not make him change anything so just leave it alone. It's only going to get you in trouble." Edward Senior opened his office door and pointed out into the hallway for Elazear to leave.

When the man was out of his office, Senior slammed the door shut and quickly turned the lock so no one would interrupt him again. He slumped down in one of the arm chairs before his desk, sighed and closed his eyes as his head tipped back to rest on the back of the chair. He just needed a little peace and quiet for a while before he rejoined the masses of bickering, arguing, and angry people downstairs.

The days leading up to Christmas slowly ticked down until the night before. It seemed like everybody had been holding their breath, waiting for Tanya, Carmen or Elizabeth to do or say something outrageous and snide towards either Bella or Edward.

Edward didn't want to tempt fate, so he would often grab Bella as well as one or two other people and a handful of security guards and go out somewhere. Marcus was the better choice than staying cooped up with Tanya and the others for too long each day. They mostly shopped for Christmas presents. Edward was surprised with the thought and attention Bella paid to each of their presents. Each was chosen carefully to fit the receiver's personality and interests perfectly. With all the time Bella took for each person's gift, Edward became anxious to know what his would be. For the life of him, he couldn't find her gifts when she hid them. Like an impatient child, he would ask her what she had gotten him but she would just shrug with a soft smile on her lips and tell him that he would just have to wait until Christmas to find out.

The night of the twenty fourth - Christmas Eve - Bella had gone to take a shower in her bathroom in Edward's bedroom, taking her pajamas and a towel. Edward was tidying up around the room, throwing some discarded clothes from the floor into the nearby hamper and generally just picking up some of the clutter neither he nor Bella had had time for in the last day or two. Neither of them were messy people, but they weren't exactly obsessive about it, either, and would tidy the clutter every few days. Bella always called it an organized mess when speaking of it.

Edward took his wet towel to the bathroom, to hang it on the heated drying rod and tidy up a little there, too. He returned to the bedroom to settle into bed to wait for Bella with a book, when he saw a figure sitting on the edge of the bed.

There was Tanya sitting on the corner of the bed with a stick-on bow over each breast and a ribbon wound through her legs, around her waist, and tied in a bow which somewhat covered her modesty. Edward flinched away and averted his eyes when she leaned back on her arms and opened her legs with a flirty smile on her face.

"You can stop the game now Eddie. I understand you were just trying to make me jealous so I would fight for you and would know I want you. I want you, Snookie-Poo. Take me. Right here. Right now. Take me. Make me yours. Make it up to me by riding me hard." She propped her spread legs on the edge of the bed so that Edward would have a much clearer view, if only he would face her.

"What the fuck are you doing in here, Tanya? Get the fuck out. Now! I don't want you in here. Leave."

Giggling, thinking it was the cutest thing in the world, Tanya batted her eye lashes and replied, "Eddie, you can stop the theatrics now. I know. I know you have to pretend around the bitch but you don't have to pretend around me. She's not here. We're the only two people in here. Unwrap the best Christmas present you've ever gotten and make me yours."

"Tanya-" Edward growled in warning to get her to leave just as a door opened and people rushed into the room.

Elizabeth, Carmen and Elazear stormed into the room, dragging Edward Senior behind and stopped when they saw Tanya and Edward. Elizabeth turned to Edward Senior as if to say 'I told you so' while Elazear cried out, "I demand he make an honest woman out of her! He broke his vows to the bitch! They mean nothing! I demand he marry my sister after his deplorable display of actions! I demand it!"

Edward Senior looked from his infuriated son to the girl on the bed and responded, "Tanya, I told you last time, close your legs and get the fuck out and don't ever come back in this room again, especially if you're not dressed properly." The girl didn't move a muscle from her perch on the bed in response to Edward Senior's scolding.

He turned his steely gaze over to the three others before rebuking them. "You should all be ashamed of yourself trying to break up a good marriage. Yes Edward and Bella have their issues, but what couple doesn't. If something like this happens again, Elazear, I will cut you out of the family once and for all; Carmen, that means no more million dollar shopping sprees for you, Tanya and Irina. And Elizabeth, I'll find something to do to you to make it hurt. Why are you trying to sabotage your own son's happy marriage? You're jealous you weren't a part of the decision process, aren't you? Get the fuck over yourself. Our sons are grown now. They don't need your controlling ways and they will do as they please. Don't delude yourself into thinking they can't do anything by themselves. Bella is a good girl and once you get the notion of Tanya and Edward together out of your head and get to know her a little, you'll realize just how special she is."

Elizabeth's face hardened as she accused, "are you having an affair with her?"

Edward Senior and Edward laughed loudly at the absurd notion before Senior shook his head and replied to his wife, "see, if you knew her at all, you wouldn't be asking that. She's thoughtful and thinks of others before herself. She's Edward's wife and I have no interest in her in that regards."

"Then why are you so infatuated with her?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't think infatuated is the right word. Intrigued, yes, but not infatuated," Senior told her. "I think she reminds me a little of you when I first met you, before you changed into what you are today standing before me. I miss that girl, the one who could get me to smile and laugh and think. She's the daughter I never had but always wished to. She's good for our family. She's changing everyone for the better. I wish you could see that and embrace her like you have the others."

The door to the opposite bathroom opened and Bella walked out in a baggy shirt and some lounge pants, but stopped on the spot when she saw the gaggle of people in her room. She hadn't heard the commotion over the noise of the overhead bathroom fan and was surprised to see the group. Edward and Edward Senior were the only two who weren't shocked to see her there. Bella sighed and trudged over to Edward, wrapping her arms around his waist and asked, "why are all these people in here? I just want to go to bed." She yawned widely and burrowed her face into Edward's side.

Edward's arms wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her in closer to his body as he answered, "there was a small misunderstanding and they were about to leave. Once they go we can curl up and go to sleep."

"What was she doing in your bathroom, Eddie?" Tanya asked from the bed, her eyes flashing with anger as her face turned a dark red color.

"She was taking a shower, Tanya," Edward replied like it was common knowledge. "Now if you excuse us, we need to get to bed. We've had a commotion- filled day and we're tired."

Smirking, Tanya turned her eyes back to Bella. "Since you have to go to sleep, we'll see you later. You can go back to your room now. This conversation was between the six of us anyway."

"Actually, Tanya, you're sitting on my bed, so could you please move your STD infested coochie and take it somewhere else? I really don't have the time or patience to deal with you right now," Bella replied with a fake smile on her face.

The look of bewilderment on the faces of Elizabeth, Carmen and Elazear was priceless, but the rage on Tanya's face was amusing to Bella and both Edwards. "What do you mean this is your bed? This is Eddie's bed and soon to be mine. Now that he tarnished my name he's going to divorce your sorry ass and marry me."

"Good luck with that," Bella replied tiredly, "Now could you please get up so I can go to sleep?" She walked over to her side of the bed, away from Tanya, and started pulling the pillows off to get it ready for bed. She was exhausted and just wanted to get some sleep but these people wouldn't leave.

"What is the meaning of this?" Elizabeth asked looking from Bella to Tanya and then over to Edward. "How could you lead this girl on, Edward? It's only going to end in divorce, sooner rather than later. How could you move her into your room without consulting me or anyone else?"

Edward raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and replying, "Mother, Tanya brought this on herself. When she got here she stormed up to the room next door and threw a tantrum, throwing Bella's things out into the hallway. Well, I figured since we're married and we're going to stay married for a long, long, long time, we may as well live together. So I moved her things in here and then Bella agreed to stay in here with me. If Tanya hadn't done what she did, Bella probably wouldn't be residing in here with me. Now, will all of you please leave? I'm tired to and I need some sleep. Please, everybody out. If I have anything to say to you, in the morning I'll come find you. Until then, I have nothing to say."

As Edward Senior ushered the others out while they whined, complained and bickered, he turned back and nodded to the two preparing for bed. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Try and get some sleep, you both look like you could use it."

"Thanks," Bella responded as she yawned widely and flopped down on the side of the bed, ignoring the outside world for the time being.

Senior watched as Edward chuckled and went over to help Bella shift her legs onto the bed and situated her comfortably. He brushed some hair out of her face and laid a soft kiss on her forehead before he went to lock the bedroom doors so no one could come in during the middle of the night and surprise them.

The next morning Edward woke up ensconced in Bella's embrace with her nose pressed tightly to his neck. He smiled to himself and stayed as close to her as he could. The warmth coming from her small body felt incredible in the cold morning air and he was going to try and steal it until the last moment possible. The clean scent of sweet strawberries and all woman lulled him back into a semi-sleep.

When he felt Bella starting to shift slightly in his arms, his eyes snapped open as he brought her body closer to his. He didn't want to get up just yet and having her leave the bed was going to force him to do so. Groaning, he clutched her tighter until Bella finally asked, "Edward? What's wrong?"

Mumbling incoherently, she was able to make out "Warm…strawberries…nice…leave me." She giggled and reached up to run her fingers through his messy hair. She scratched his scalp gently causing him to purr deep in his chest as he scooted down on the bed and laid his head between her breasts, settling comfortably again with a sweet smile on his face. She smiled at his reaction and continued stroking his hair for a while.

The sun shining through the window and the banging on their door told them they needed to get up, though Edward wanted more time. "Come on you two! Quit with the bump and grind!" Emmett hollered through the door, still pounding on the door.

Edward growled as he stood, storming over to the door only to throw it open and growl at his brother, "We're up you God-damned ape, now leave us the hell alone!"

"No can do, Eddie. The others want you downstairs to open presents. So hurry your butt up. Bella?" Emmett yelled past Edward, "Are you going to make breakfast?"

Chuckling as she approached the door, she looked up at Emmett and asked, "I take it Varner has the day off and you're all hungry?"

The large smile on Emmett's face said it all, but he added in an enthusiastic nod of his head as he asked, "Can you make chocolate chip waffles? Please?"

Bella nodded and asked, "Give me five minutes and I'll be down to make breakfast. Then we can open presents."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank You!"

"What did you do before I came here? Because it doesn't seem like anyone else can cook…" Bella wondered aloud.

"We usually went out for food, or had it delivered on days like this," Edward reasoned as he shut the door in Emmett's face and went to go change into the mandatory Christmas attire. All family members were obligated to wear ridiculous looking Christmas sweaters, each a "present" from Elizabeth, which were designer and she thought were cute.

Edward's sweater had a reindeer that was apparently supposed to be Rudolph because it had a blinking red Christmas tree bulb where the nose. It looked like a string of tree lights and a sewing machine mated and created the ugliest offspring ever. When he pulled it over his head and turned to Bella, he saw her trying to hide her amusement, though she was doing a very poor job of it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yuck it up, Little Love, but you've got to wear one too."

Her smile slid from her face immediately. "I have to wear one of those God-awful things? Since I'm new here and don't quite know the rules, couldn't I get away with not, this time around? It's not like they can get mad at me or anything if I don't know. Right?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Love, you've got to wear one too. Mother got one for you, and with what's been happening in this house, if you don't wear it she'll blow a gasket at you and me. I really don't want to get yelled at today." He produced a sweater from the closet and presented it to her, half smugly and half apologetically.

Sighing, Bella took the ugly sweater from Edward and pulled it over her head. It was scratchy and too warm and it looked absolutely hideous. It was primarily red and green yarn knitted together with a decal on the front of Frosty the Snowman. Frosty had a string of lights on one of his branch hands, made of actual tree lights embedded in the sweater, and a string of ornaments on the other, made of more tree lights with little clear round coverings to create the ornament look. The nose was an orange tree light.

Bella looked up at Edward and asked, "You hate me, don't you?"

Chuckling, Edward shook his head as he brought her into his side and said, "I love you."

"Then what the hell did I do in my previous life that would make this happen? Did I shoot someone?" Bella complained as she pulled the front of the sweater out to see what it looked like. She absolutely hated it and had no qualms of saying it.

"I'm sure you were right as rain, Little Love. It's just my mother. I think she secretly hates everyone and that's why she makes us endure this cruel and unusual punishment each year," Edward replied kissing the top of her head.

Bella scratched the neckline where the itchy sweater was scraping against her skin and groaned, "How long do I have to wear this today?"

"All day long. No exceptions." The smugness had gone from Edward's features, and he looked entirely apologetic now.

"Even if I accidentally spill waffle batter down the front of the horrid thing?" She asked, brightening at the possibility of not wearing it much longer.

Shaking his head at her train of thought, Edward replied, "You are extremely amusing, Little Love, and yes, she'll make you wear it even if there's food on it, so don't spill on it. You can slip out of it when we get back in here later, okay?"

Sighing in frustration, Bella replied, "Fine, I guess I'll have to deal with it for a few hours, but Edward, it's really, really ugly. How could your mother think these were cute?"

"She thinks everything that has a designer label is wonderful, whether it is or not. You haven't even seen the entire effect of the sweater yet," he reached over and flipped the switch, turning on the light bulbs so they blinked brightly. Bella growled playfully as she swatted at Edward's arm and left the room, not bothering to wait for him to follow her.

When Bella entered the kitchen, she saw everyone, including the Denali's, loitering around the kitchen, waiting for something to eat.

She didn't bother saying "hello" or "good morning" to any of them, diving straight into the cooking. Kate was first in line and ordered two waffles for her and four for Garrett. Others quickly followed, each collecting food for themselves and their spouse. Edward scooped up four for himself while he made a plate with three for Bella and took them over to the dining table to a seat saved for Bella between him and Senior. Emmett all but demanded ten waffles, earning him a smack behind the head from Rose who only wanted one. Tanya didn't even bother getting any waffles, since she was "watching her figure" and went with a small plate of fruit instead.

When the kitchen was cleared, Bella joined the others in the dining room and Senior said a quick prayer before everyone dug into their food. Everyone was quiet as they ate, and all that could be heard was the clinking and clanking of silverware against the plates beneath. They had all learned their lesson from Thanksgiving to not speak at the table, and for once Senior was happy at the turn of events. This was how he grew up – silence at the dinner table.

One by one, as they finished their breakfast they each took their plate to the kitchen and congregated in the living room to open presents.

Once everyone was done with their food, sitting, waiting eagerly, Carlisle asked, "Who wants to be Santa this year?"

"I vote for you," Esme joked putting a Santa hat atop his head before sitting back down in her seat.

"All right, I guess I'm playing Santa this year. Then we're doing it by my rules. Everybody gets one present at a time. No sneaking into the presents to get more of your own before I pass them to you," Carlisle told everybody, then added, "Emmett, I'm looking at you."

"Hey! I resent that!" Emmett whined.

Everyone chuckled as Carlisle started passing out the presents to each of the family members. Bella was hoping her gifts would be well received but she knew a few of them either wouldn't get it or wouldn't like them. That was ok though, because she knew she had tried.

Rather than tearing into each present then discarding it to get to another one within seconds, Carlisle's system ensured they were able to savor the excitement and happiness throughout the day.

Over the course of the day Bella opened classic books from Elizabeth and Garrett while Aro, after hearing she loved to cook from the others, had given her some recipe books, which she could write her own in. Sculpicia bought her a computer while Carlisle bought her a classic 160 GB iPod in black. Rose made sure her remaining closet space was filled with clothes, shoes and accessories and Alice made sure she would never want for figurines to paint to de-stress, and gave her a nice compact sewing machine and some fabric she could use for her quilt. Esme had given her some garden supplies for a small window garden for her bedroom and Jasper gave her a very professional looking camera. Both Edward Senior and Emmett dedicated a room to her in the house. Senior gave her her own office two doors down from Edward's on the fourth floor while Emmett constructed a dark room with everything she would ever need to develop photographs. Kate had given her a $50 iTunes gift card, a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card and a $150 Victoria Secret's gift card, all while winking at the blushing girl and telling her to, "spend the Victoria Secret one wisely."

But the present that she loved the most was from Edward. He had bought her some very pretty jewelry, some DKNY perfume and a Thomas Kinkaid painting her grandfather used to love. All of that didn't mean anything compared to the last part of the gift. When she opened the box she couldn't help but "awe," at it. She picked it up to look closer at the plush, wide eyed dog stuffed animal, and then flung her arms around Edward's neck and hugged him senseless.

While the couple continued to hold each other, Carlisle handed Elizabeth the present from Bella. It was a large box and , for just a moment, she entertained the thought of not even bothering to open, caring little for what the gift was, but one look from her husband and she knew that wasn't an option. She carefully unwrapped the box and opened it, only to see her husband staring back up at her from below the lid.

The time, effort and care Bella had taken to make these picture frames was impressive. Every one of the twelve picture frames was unique and symbolic. Each one done in favorite colors of the picture's subject, adorned with decorations that portrayed their personality and hobbies.

The pictures held in each frame were varied – from candid to posed; recent to aged; sweet to silly. Each had been chosen with care to represent the member of her family. Elizabeth finally began to understand what her husband had been telling her about the girl being thoughtful of others.

The first frame, containing a color copy of their wedding photograph, was done in silver, with faux pearls draped across the top corners to make it look distinctive and opulent, matching both Edward Senior's personality as well as hers. They had looked so in love on that day, thirty years ago, and in their own way they still were. The love had changed though. The man she had first fallen in love with had changed over the years, slowly pulling away from her, but she was starting to see she had changed as well. For the worse.

With the arrival of the new girl, Elizabeth could see in his eyes the old spark that he held so many years ago. She had been so obsessed about Tanya and Edward's upcoming wedding, she hadn't seen the change in her husband. He had started touching her more, innocent little touches that had become infrequent over the years – touches that held promise for later. He was becoming himself again. It was her turn to realize she needed to improve for the better as well. She wanted the spark back in their relationship; the kind they had had in the old days, when it was just the two of them.

Elizabeth looked over at the small, mousy looking girl sitting next to Edward and, for the first time, she quietly observed her. Edward was holding her hand tightly in his lap, brushing his thumb over her skin as he spoke about something with Carlisle, who was seated on his other side on the couch. The girl was speaking to Alice about some of the plaster painting figurines she had received. She looked animated as she gestured wildly towards the little bobble headed plaster sculptures. Elizabeth quickly noticed that when Edward moved, the girl moved as well, albeit unconsciously, like a magnet would with its match. She set the picture of her husband down on a nearby side table and looked at the next one.

The frame held a picture, taken from quite the distance, of a family picnic for business associates taken many years ago, but even with the time and space that had lapsed, she could still remember it all like yesterday. She noticed her husband standing off to the side of one of the picnic tables with a red plastic cup in his hand, speaking with another associate. He looked serious as he usually did, but instead of the black business suit that seemed to be his dress code, he was wearing a pair of tan colored pressed kakis, a dark blue, almost black polo shirt and casual shoes. His dark brown hair had only just begun to grey due to stress and age, and his face appeared less worn. Through the years, his features had hardened more.

It was almost twenty years ago that the photograph was taken, during a 4th of July barbeque that all of the family's associates were invited to. Everyone brought their families and had a good time. The picture showed everyone in some summer getup - shorts, tank tops, short skirts and sandals. The laughter of the men and women, as well as the children's playful shrieks could be heard throughout the park as they mingled.

Her eyes found Aro's nine year old form and smiled when she realized it was one of the few pictures of him and his best friend. They were playing cops and robbers and he was always the robber; never the cop. He had smeared mud all over his face "for face paint, because robbers couldn't have their face showing". With a bandana around his neck and a shiny, fake pistol in his hand he smiled widely up at the camera before he continued running around the park with his buddy.

Less than a week after the picture was taken, the mother and son were killed in a car accident. Elizabeth was sure that Aro hadn't smiled again since he had been told of his friend's death. It was the first real heartbreak in his life and she knew just how hard it had hit him. The day he found out his friend had died was the day her eldest son had grown up.

The dainty sniffle that came from Elizabeth caused Edward Senior to glance over at her. It was apparent that she was reliving a distant memory, brought on by the picture. It wasn't often Elizabeth showed her emotions and he could tell she was so affected by the gift.

Senior remembered the moment in the photograph, so many years ago. He had been in charge of the family business for a number of years already at that time. And he knew the deaths were no accident. Marcus' older brother, Ignacio, had been driving drunk that early evening when he ran head long into them. The woman and the boy were killed on impact while Ignacio survived in critical condition for a week in a nearby hospital before finally succumbing to his injuries. Aro had never forgiven Marcus' family for taking his one and only friend from him. To that day he still had a vendetta against the Volturi family.

Picking Edward and herself out of the crowd, Elizabeth chuckled to herself. She was off to the side of the picture, reaching down to pick Edward up as he reached up to her. He was a tiny little thing at only five, but reminded her a little of Dumbo with his big ears and a little of Opie with his two front gapped teeth, red hair and a smattering of light freckles across his cheekbones and bridge of nose. Luckily he grew into the ears and his teeth corrected naturally. Over the years, his hair darkened to a richer red-brown color and the freckles slowly disappeared to leave flawless, unmarred skin behind, but if he were to spend some time in the sun, they'd be back. Now he was a stunning young man.

At hearing his wife's chuckle for the first time in a while, Edward Senior turned to see what she thought was so funny. When he saw she was still engrossed in the photos Bella had given her, he smiled brightly. _Maybe all hope wasn't lost after all._ Bella was working her charm on everybody in the house, whether consciously or not. He saw the same look in her eyes that he had felt in his when Bella first got to him. _How did one woman have so much influence over an entire family without even realizing it?_ It should have been a scary thought to Edward Senior, especially in the line of work he was in, but surprisingly, it wasn't.

Senior had been watching for her reaction to the gift and could feel himself growing hopeful that this would be the start of a major change for the Cullen family. They had been divided and individual for far too long now and he was hoping this would be the catalyst to bridge that divide. He was praying she realized she had turned into a person that was difficult to be around, bitter and controlling, and that she would do her best to return to the loving, lovable person she had been when they first married. He had missed her so much and hadn't known how to go about getting that girl back.

Elizabeth noticed Emmett in the picture, hiding in a nearby tree looking down into the shirts of the passing girls below. Already, at the age of seven, he was ogling pretty girls and making people laugh. The picture must have been taken just before he fell out of the tree and broken his arm. Even hurt, Emmett made sure a smile was on his parents' faces, just like normal. He lived to see his loved ones smile.

On the large green grass field, with numerous other children of the associates, Jasper was trying to organize a winning strategy with his other flag football team members. He looked so serious as he used a stick to point out something on the ground to the other members. His shaggy hair would constantly fall into his eyes as he commanded his troops into battle, no matter the cost.

Carlisle was talking to the business doctor near the picnic tables with eagerness in his eyes as he inquired about everything related to medicine. He had such an inquisitive mind at the age of eight, already knowing what he wanted to do when he got older. He was speaking animatedly, motioning with his hands as they spoke about something enthralling. Elizabeth could see the good doctor was humoring her son, as he answered all his questions, easily seeing he was excited to learn more.

With all of them separate, yet making a whole picture, Elizabeth knew the ideal spot on her office wall to hang the photograph, to remind her of what had been and what had become. She would be able to look at it each day and remind herself that things can always get better, no matter how much a person has changed.

Looking up at the young girl again, Elizabeth wondered how this near stranger could know so much about the family, having only been there for three months. Glancing around at the room to the other occupants, Elizabeth couldn't help the chuckle when she saw the gift the new girl had given Kate. She received a hunky firefighter calendar and thirteen 27 lb pound gummy bears, one in each of the different flavors. How anyone could eat that much gummy bear was beyond Elizabeth, but seeing the look on Kate's face when she opened the present was priceless. She needed help to hold one of them up, showing everyone the gift Bella had given her. It was perfect for Kate though, she liked strange, unique things and the 27 pound gummy bear was something Kate had never heard of before.

The pottery wheel Bella had purchased for Carlisle would help him de-stress from life when it got to be too much. He already would sculpt and mould clay when he got a free moment, but the pottery wheel would help him just turn off his mind from running a mile a minute like it usually did. He was constantly thinking about patients and how to deal with the family business. The clay was the only thing to help him turn everything off every now and then. Elizabeth was excited to see Carlisle relax for once.

Great thought had been put into the presents for the others as well, including drum sticks and skins for Emmett, a coach purse for Rose, fabric and a mannequin for Alice and even John Cusack movies for Sculpicia – the girl had truly thought of everyone; even the Denali's, who were pouting off to the side giving nearly everyone the death stare and silent treatment.

Carlisle and Emmett were the only two of their sons that didn't let the family business get to them. Emmett was a gigantic kid in a man's body. He never grew up, always the joker of the family, while Carlisle tried not to let the gore and death get to him. He tried to stay positive. Sometimes it was harder than others, especially when a friend of his died or was injured, but he was always one to stay positive.

Flipping through the remainder of the photographs, Elizabeth spent time looking over each of the individual photos and their custom-made frames. She was particularly astounded at the pictures of Rose and Alice. Never before had she seen such a beautiful, genuine smile from Rose, nor the playful side of Alice with her tongue stuck out at the photographer, who had clearly just surprised her.

Elizabeth looked up from the photographs and watched Edward lean into the girl's side, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh heartily. He took the cat stuffed animal and started flying it through the air, which was quite fitting since it was in a Superman costume. There was a back story to that but, as she didn't know much about his life anymore, she didn't know what it was. She realized that, if she had known, she would be laughing right along with them.

The ties, blank music score sheet and blank painting canvases that Bella gave to Edward suited him to a 'T'. Elizabeth knew that before the year was out Edward would paint her portrait to hang on his office wall. The girl truly knew Elizabeth's youngest son.

Realizing the amount of thought that went into the presents Bella had given, Elizabeth conceded that she should at least give the girl a chance. She didn't like the idea of Edward being with anyone but Tanya, but Elizabeth was willing to give it a chance to see how it went. She still clung to the idea of Edward and Tanya together, but she silently agreed to back off a touch.

As the days of Christmas slipped away into the past, Bella and Edward developed a routine for living with one another. They would retire to the room about eight or nine at night, get ready for bed and either read next to one other on the large, comfortable bed or they would lie together, talking for hours before finally slipping off to sleep. It was a wonderful routine, allowing them time to learn more about each other and it afforded them some time to just be themselves without others watching and analyzing every move they make, but it also isolated them from the others. With the evil witches there, the isolation was more than appreciated, but upon their departure, Bella was determined to get out and start to get to know the other family members better.

Bella relaxed on the comfortable bed in her pajamas, reading the new novel she had picked from the library, as Edward finished up in the shower. He promised he would come lie with her afterwards for a while and she was looking forward to snuggling with him.

A few short minutes later, Edward walked out of the bathroom in his lounge pants sans a shirt while he roughly towel dried his hair. He flung the towel across the room, barely making it into the hamper and, to break up the monotonous routine, crawled over Bella and looked down into her large, expressive brown eyes a moment before asking, "Do you want to go watch a movie?"

She nodded with a serene smile and inquired, "Can we ask the others if they want to join us? I don't want them to feel left out of all the fun."

Chuckling, Edward nodded as he pulled out his phone and texted the others. "You are something else, Little Love. You know that?" Edward turned his eyes back up to look at her.

Biting her lower lip, Bella questioned, "What do you mean?"

"You constantly think of everyone else. It's exhausting just watching you. How do you have the time to think of yourself when you're busy worrying about others?" Edward queried as he ran his fingers through her hair. She shrugged, without knowing the answer; she chose not to even respond. "You're amazing, Little Love."

They made their way downstairs to the first floor of the apartment by way of elevator. Edward motioned to the couch and told Bella to sit down as he headed to the wall of DVD cupboards that held thousands of movies. He pulled one out without letting Bella see which one and replaced the box, shutting the doors. Bella asked, "What are we watching?" as he placed the disc into the DVD player

He smiled as he stood up and walked over to her, leaned down and kissed her forehead and playfully told her, "You'll just have to wait and see, huh? I'm going to go get the snacks…"

"I can do that," Bella offered, standing up again.

"Nope. You sit your butt back down. I don't want you to wear yourself out before the movie starts. Besides, I know what everybody likes. You sit down and try to relax some and I'll be back in just a minute. Okay?"

Bella nodded and did what she was told without further fuss since she was pretty tired already. She reclined back on the couch as the movie started with the opening previews. The others would be joining them momentarily after they finished what they were doing upstairs.

She had just gotten comfortable, draped in a soft, snuggly periwinkle blanket with a pillow on the arm of the couch, her head perched atop, when the opening credits started rolling across the large television screen. The movie was going to start soon, and even though Edward had already seen it, it was his favorite movie, Bella quickly hit pause on the remote to freeze the disc and called back into the kitchen, "It's starting! Hurry up! Are the others coming soon?"

"I'm coming. I'm coming! Hold your horses," he laughed back from the other room.

Chuckling, Bella turned back to the frozen television and from the corner of her eye, saw a figure standing between the tea room and the family room in the semi-darkness. It was exceedingly creepy the way the figure simply stood there, shrouded in the darkness, unmoving.

There in the darkness of the unused room, was Tanya wearing a pair of short, dark wash cut off jean shorts that did nothing to hide what was below, and a shirt that looked more like a bikini bathing suit top. A scowl marred her face as she studied Bella.

She couldn't see what this woman had that she didn't. Tanya was exceptionally beautiful, even more so than Rosalie. Her body was a perfect, slim, hourglass figure with a tiny waist, large bust and flaring hips. This girl had hips, yes, but her bust was on the smaller side and she had no discernible waist. Tanya didn't understand what Edward was thinking when he looked at this flake of a girl. _How could Edward throw her to the side for this mousy, good for nothing, low class, piece of white trailer trash?_ Tanya was sick of everyone catering to the mouse and not paying attention to her. And it needed to end. Now.

Watching the woman stride further into the light of the family room, Bella felt her pulse speed in anticipation and her breath freeze in her lungs in dread and foreboding. Anticipation of what, she wasn't sure, but something was about to happen. The woman was like a pretty rose, beautiful to look at, but get too close and she'd prick you with her thorns. Bella could see the anger, frustration and determination in her eyes as she closed in on her.

As Tanya rounded the side of the coffee table, she struck out as a snake would at its unsuspecting prey. Her tenacious fingers sank into Bella's locks and she yanked back harshly as Bella stood from the couch to try to limit the pain that was searing across her scalp.

"You think you're better than me? You think you can just come in here and take what's mine?" Tanya growled out at the girl, watching as she tried to remove her hand from her dull brown hair to stop the pain. "I'm better than you in every way, so what makes you think you could **ever** beat me? This is my family. This is my home. This is my place. Edward is **my** husband. And this, this is my ring." Tanya lunged to yank it off Bella's finger, uncaring of the damage she would inflict, but Bella managed to break Tanya's hold on her hair as she was distracted by the shiny object and stepped away from the crazy woman.

Neither woman noticed the crowd that was gathering at the edge the room, but one by one, those that had come to watch the movie filed into the room and stopped to watch what was about to happen, ready to intervene if they felt Bella needed help. They all wanted to allow Bella the opportunity to stand up for herself first.

"What are you on?" Bella asked, clearly repulsed by Tanya's actions. "Because you're clearly delusional. Either that or you've got your head so far up your ass you can't hear **all** of us telling you that **Edward and I are married** and you're just a wanna' be fill in. Get that through your thick skull."

"He's mine!" Tanya bellowed, very unladylike.

"No. He's not. He's mine. He chose me," Bella replied calmly.

Snarling, Tanya reached up and smacked Bella's face with more force than either was expecting. However, before Tanya could gloat and before Bella knew what she was doing, another, harsher, louder slap resonated throughout the cavernous room, echoing back at them ominously. Tanya gasped at being struck for the first time in her life.

"You just-" Tanya started bewildered. "How dare you slap me? You don't **ever** touch someone superior to you, and I'm superior in **every** way."

"You have a superior attitude and a superiority complex, but that's about it. You're not superior to me in **any** way. The fact that you think so just proves how stupid, shallow and insignificant you actually are. Well, you can kiss my pasty white, pale ass. You know what? I feel sorry for you. You're never going to be happy with anything. People like you are sorry excuses for human beings. Keep in mind, Karma is an unforgiving bitch, Tanya, and she likes to even the score. So everything horrible you've said or done in the past is going to come to bite you in the ass. Or has it already started with Edward wanting me instead of you?"

Screaming shrilly, Tanya lunged forward and slapped Bella's painfully red cheek again. Not wanting this to turn out like it had in the past at her aunt and uncle's house, Bella stood up for herself and struck back.

The tussle that ensued between Tanya and Bella was amusing but a joke, with Tanya fighting like a sissy, stuck up girl and Bella taking no prisoners. Edward still worried about Bella's well being, though. There wasn't a single situation he could think of that he wouldn't worry about her. It was unwarranted, though, because Bella cocked her elbow back into Tanya's stomach, forcing the air out of Tanya's lungs in a gigantic breath. Bella decided that one more hit was acceptable in self defense so she pulled her arm back and hauled off and punched Tanya right in the nose. The crunch that was heard around the room made everybody cringe in pain.

Tanya screamed from the pain and finally saw Edward standing behind the couch near the kitchen with a tray of snacks typical to movie theaters. "Pookie-Bear! Look what she did to me! She attacked me for no reason! She broke my nose! What are you going to do about it? I demand you do something!"

Edward set the tray down on the couch cushion behind Bella and walked around to the front. He detoured over to Bella and gently picked up her sore hand to check it for damage. "Did you hurt yourself?" Edward whispered inquiringly.

Shaking her head, Bella responded, "I've had worse."

Lifting her hand to his face, Edward gently placed a kiss on her red knuckles as he looked into her eyes. Her eyes met his and they smiled at one another softly in understanding.

A loud scoff sounded through the room, causing all of them to turn and look at Tanya, who had blood drops down the front of her tattered shirt and skin. She tried, fruitlessly, to stop the bleeding.

"You don't have to fake it anymore, Edward. Everyone can see you don't love her. How did she trick you into marrying her? I know you're just stringing her along until you can get the upper hand on her blackmailing ways. Then you're going to divorce her. Don't worry, I won't hold any of this against you when you come crawling back to me. I'll take you back, but only after a lot of begging, pleading and groveling down on your knees before me." She walked out of the room and headed to her bedroom, holding her nose up in the air.

The room was silent for a long beat before Rose asked, "What the hell is she smoking? Because whatever it is, remind me to stay the hell away from it," as she looked over at Edward, then to Bella. "Are you okay Bella?" She asked, her natural, protective, mothering instincts shining through. "She got you pretty good a few times." She stepped forward to check on the girl she cared for.

"I'm fine Rose, thank you though. I've had much worse in my time. I'm used to it by now," she responded to Rose numbly, without emotion as she shrugged off her concern and turned into Edward's warm, safe, solid form, buried her face in his chest and breathed in the calming scent that was masculine and all Edward.

Rose's angry, disturbed eyes shifted from the girl up to Edward, who wrapped his arms tightly around Bella's slumped shoulders and pressed his cheek to the crown of her head. He breathed in the familiar, soothing scent of strawberry as his eyes closed in peace. Rose could see the love they held for one another. It was clear as day; even a blind man could see. But Rose was concerned about what Bella had just revealed. "Edward?" Rose asked quietly, silently begging for answers to the questions raised by the disturbing information brought into light.

Opening his eyes, Edward glanced over at Rose without moving. The worry and anxiety were blatantly obvious in her facial features, causing him to sigh out in sadness and frustration. He knew she needed answers. "Jasper, could you escort Bella upstairs? I'll be up momentarily."

When Jasper nodded, Edward tried to carefully hand the most precious thing in his life over to his brother, but she wouldn't let go of him. He tried to pry her hands off of his shirt, but that only caused Bella to whimper pathetically. He knew she was flashing back to the years she spent in the house with her abusive aunt and uncle and it damn near destroyed him.

He sighed, realizing that, for both of their sakes, he wouldn't be able to let her go for the time being. Bella always tried to show that she was tough and could take care of herself, that she didn't need anyone else, but Edward could tell that that way of thinking was taking a toll on her. She tried to be strong, ferocious and brave at all times and she put up a good front, but she wasn't nearly as strong as she thought she was. She reminded him of a kitten who thought it was a tiger. It was cute and all, but it wasn't working anymore. Edward knew Bella would most likely crack before she could start healing and he would much rather that happened soon if it was going to happen at all. He wanted to have time to help her piece herself together before more shit was flung at them.

He gently maneuvered her over to the couch and kept his arms around her shoulders as she clung to his shirt, face pressed tightly over his heart. He lowered himself down onto the couch, allowing her to follow him down. Pulling her onto his lap, he situated her so her back was against the couch arm, her head stayed over his heart and his arms were tightly wrapped around her, silently telling her he wasn't going to let her go. One hand snaked up over his waist to rest beside her face on his chest before it caught the fabric of his shirt. She clutched it tightly to her as his hand trailed up her arm and tangled itself gently in her hair at the nape of her neck.

Looking up at the others, he heard Rose quietly breathe out, "What did she mean when she said me she'd been through worse?"

Laying his cheek against the top of Bella's head again, he looked over at Rose and explained, "When she came to us back in September, she had been removed from her aunt and uncle's place. All I'm going to say is, from everything I've gotten from Bella so far, they weren't nice people in the least."

"They hurt her?" Rose asked desolately.

"Badly," Esme piped in from the darkness of the tea room as she stepped forward, eyes only for Bella. "She's been doing very well here with us, but she's still hurting."

Nodding, Edward kissed Bella's forehead and revealed, "She tries to be tough for everybody, not letting anyone see how much she hurts inside, how much she's been hurt. I guess she figures if she keeps it from us then we won't pity her and we won't be hurt in turn because we care for her."

"That's absurd, why wouldn't we care for her?" Rose asked spinning back to look at Edward.

Shrugging even though it was harder with Bella in his lap, he countered with, "I didn't say it was logical. That's just what I believe she feels. Either that or she thinks that once we know the whole story, we won't want her around. We'd blame her for what happened, we wouldn't like her anymore, I don't know."

"But-" Rose started, feeling helpless for the first time since her father beat her senseless for failing a class in sophomore year of high school. She and Emmett met a few months later in the spring, and had kept her safe from the harm ever since. "She's family. We'd love her regardless. Why doesn't she believe that?"

Giving her a pointed look, Edward fired back, "Yeah, because everybody in this house has been so hospitable towards her so far. Mother and Sculpicia are rarely around, always out shopping for one thing or another. Aro's always working on something in his office since he's taking over the family business when Father steps down and the rest of you are trying to get to know her while still giving her time and space. She doesn't trust people lightly, and with this whole 'Tanya is delusional' situation, I think she's closed herself off more than usual to avoid getting hurt while the witch is here."

"I'll kill her," Rose confessed. "I'll pull her hair out one strand at a time, take pliers to her precious nails and a blow torch to her perfectly tanned skin if she does one more thing to hurt Bella. Her behavior is uncalled for and I won't stand for it anymore. She's a royal bitch and she needs to be taught a lesson. Bella is family, Tanya is not. If I killed Tanya tomorrow, Senior would help me cover it up. He loves Bella so much. Hell, the only ones who don't love her are your mother, Sculpicia and the Denali's - minus Garrett and Kate. Even the staff love Bella."

"I know it. We all know it. I don't think Bella realizes just how much everybody around her has changed for the better since she came into our lives."

"You love her?" Alice asked quietly from behind Rose.

Edward smiled goofily and nodded at her, "I do. I love her so much."

"Ditto," Bella mumbled out against his shirt.

He laughed and pressed his lips to her hair and repeated himself, "I love you, Little Love, with all my heart and soul."

"Ditto."

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much for reading this story! I've been keeping this idea that's been swirling my brain for a while, kept there because I didn't know how people would respond to it. The overwhelming response I've gotten from the beginning when I posted chapter 1 is absolutely staggering, even ten chapters later, it's still overwhelming. Thank you all.**

**A thundering, earth shattering, ground trembling, roaring, standing ovation to TwiSNFan for catching my mistakes and giving me suggestions. She is my saving grace, my angel, my wonderful beta. She keeps my ramblings to a minimum, coherent and distinct. None of this would be up here without her, so please take a moment and leave some love for her. I flove her.**

**Leave a review if possible and let me know how I'm doing. What resonated with you during the chapter? I want to know what you think about the chapters because they give me an idea of where to take this. None of it was written before hand so I'm muddling through it as I go. Who knows, with your permission, I may use some of the suggestions you leave in a review later on during the story. I thank everyone who has reviewed. You're amazing.**

**Please keep in mind, constructive criticism is most welcomed, even encouraged, but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one and nobody learns from anything. Thank you!**

**Please be patient for chapter 12. I literally just sat down to start writing it. It's giving me a hard time. I will get that out to you as soon as possible. Remember, I've been averaging ten or so days between each update.**

**Jo**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I do not own Twilight, nor am I SM.**

***Angst warning***

**This one's a little bit shorter because if I didn't stop it where I did, it would have turned into another chapter 10/11. I also got the dreaded writer's block and didn't know how to write this chapter the way I wanted it. Sorry about the length for those who wanted longer chapters. It just didn't happen this time. I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you below-**

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><p>After Edward Senior came down to the first floor and discovered Tanya had attacked Bella, he grabbed Tanya by her perfectly quaffed hair, yanked her down the hall and threw her into the elevator, stating she and her family had twenty minutes to grab their stuff and get gone. He didn't want them in his home ever again and he spelled that out, very clearly, to everybody. The Denali's made a giant production of leaving an hour later, and as she stood with her suitcases, Tanya kept trying to gain Edward's attention. Edward, however, kept his good-byes short and sweet, only lingering with Kate and Garrett.<p>

The Cullen's planned to go out to one of Jasper's restaurants for dinner the following night, to celebrate the departure. It would be at least six months before they had to see the Denali family again in any capacity, and even then, the family wouldn't be staying in the Cullen home. Most of the Cullens were going to cherish each and every moment without the psychotic drama.

Elizabeth was still surly about Edward and Bella's marriage and being kept in the dark for so long, while Sculpicia was downright irate. Tanya was her best friend and no matter what this flake did, she would never warm up to her. She had plans to visit Tanya in New York the next weekend to help her drown her sorrows, putting to good use the expensive wine Tanya had already bought for the wedding that seemed like it would never come to be. As the front door slammed shut behind the sniveling Tanya, Bella mumbled so only the people immediately around her could hear, "Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead."

"I'll see you guys later," Alice giggled loudly as she and the others started off to get ready to go to bed that night. "I'm going to start getting ready. Lord knows it's going to take me forever to get everything just right."

When they left the room, looking at Edward, Bella asked, "I didn't know you owned restaurants. What kind of restaurant is it?"

Enveloping her in a tight hug, Edward whispered back, "Jasper owns a lot of them all over the city. They all have different themes but the one we'll go to tomorrow night is a nice Italian restaurant called _Bella Italia_. I think you'll like it."

"It's fancy?" Bella asked with large, inquiring eyes. She wasn't quite sure if trying to get all dolled up to go out for dinner was going to turn out to be a good thing or bad thing. She'd never put make up on or quaffed her hair before. She wasn't even sure what eyeliner looked like.

Kissing her forehead softly, Edward responded, "It's a fancier restaurant, though we don't have to be in our Sunday best or anything-"

"Excuse me," Bella rushed out as she removed herself from his arms and bounded out of the room like Bambi would through the forest and yelled, "Alice!"

Alice came tearing around the corner, worried there was a problem with Bella. So when Bella found her and stopped before her to catch her breath, Alice asked, "What's wrong?"

"I need you to help me get ready for tomorrow night," Bella breathed heavily.

Smiling, Alice asked, "Are you serious? You want me to help you get dolled up?"

Bella nodded and asked, "Please?"

Slipping her arm through Bella's bent one, Alice patted her forearm and told her, "Not to worry, you're going to look stunning when everything is said and done. Now, tonight you're going to need to take a shower. I'll give you all the products you'll need to shine. You have to follow my directions, or it won't turn out properly."

The next few hours were spent washing and conditioning Bella's hair, washing, exfoliating, and cleansing her skin, plucking, primping and perfecting her look. Bella thought that _if all that had to be done tonight, she didn't want to know what would happen tomorrow._

Morning came too quickly for Bella. She was exhausted and didn't want to come out from her hiding spot under the covers next to a very warm Edward. But like most good things, it came to an end when Alice barged into their room and threw the covers off before bouncing on the bed happily as she clapped her hands loudly and sang excitedly, "Wakey, wakey! Time to get up and start getting ready for tonight! We only have a few hours left to make the masterpiece that is you, even better. So up! Don't make me drag you out of bed! Breakfast is already made and waiting for you downstairs. You have fifteen minutes to go eat it before I drag you into my room and have my wicked way with you! You'd better eat now because you may not get another chance until tonight!"

After a filling late brunch of blueberry pancakes, sausage and some scrambled eggs, Bella found herself up in Alice and Jasper's room so the other girls could perfect her look and dress for that evening.

Alice was giddy. Edward was nervous. Bella was downright terrified.

Bella had agreed to this, she had even asked for it, but now she wasn't so sure it was right. Alice had an evil gleam in her eye and it made her very hesitant and untrusting. But before Bella could bolt, Alice forced her down into the salon chair that was in her bathroom and spun her away from the mirror.

"I don't want you to peak before we're finished with you. Esme, Rose and I will be doing you up while we get ready too. Esme and I are taking the first shift while Rose gets herself ready and then we'll switch off."

"What are you going to do, Rose?" Bella asked curiously.

Smiling, Rose described, "Well, I have this little red dress. It's made of rayon and it ends just about mid thigh and its skin tight, too. Its fire truck red and has an A-symmetrical, one shoulder thing going on, while the other is just a strap that attaches to the dress with a broach. I have a pair of red stilettos and I'm going to put my hair up. Natural make up with bright red lips like the old 1940's pin up women."

"If anyone can pull off the red lips, it's you Rose," Alice explained as she started plugged in what appeared to be torture devices to use on Bella.

Rose made a big production of kissing Alice on the cheeks as she replied in a fake English accent, "Why, thank you, Dahling! You always know just what to say, don't you?"

"But of course. What would you do without me?" Alice played back. "Now, we need to get started. We have lots to do and not a lot of time to do it in."

"Gee, thanks Alice. Way to make me feel like the ugly duckling here," Bella replied dejectedly.

Alice spun on her heel with wide eyes and immediately told Bella, "That's not what I meant! I just mean we all have our hair, makeup and dresses to do as well as help you and that's a lot. It usually takes me at least three hours to get ready by myself. We'll make it though. We're good like that. So, shall we get going? We can't dilly dally any longer. We need all the time we can get."

Six hours, pokes, prods, plucking, hair, makeup and two outfit changes later, Alice, Rose and Esme stepped back from Bella with self satisfied smile on their faces. Bella felt like she was dressed up like a clown with the makeup on her face and her hair in large chestnut ringlets that fell lushly down her back and ended just above her shoulder blades, but apparently, according to the girls, she looked good. Glancing over at Esme, she noticed a stray tear fall down her cheek as she whispered, "my little girl is all grown up and spreading her wings. You look beautiful. Look."

Standing up, Bella walked over to the full length mirror Alice had in her room and gasped. She really was pretty with the classic 1950's black suede dress she was wearing that came to just above her knees and had a high, wide boat neckline before it plunged to her mid back. It had two inch straps and the zipper was in the back. But what made Bella speechless was the fact she actually had a figure under all the baggy clothes she wore. The dress pulled in at her waist before rounding out over her hips to give her a very nice hourglass figure. She was absolutely floored at the reflection. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact it was her staring back.

"Oh!" Bella gasped as she lifted her hand to her face touching it and watching the reflection to make sure it really was her. She couldn't believe it. She'd never been pretty before.

"You look beautiful, Sweetie," Esme whispered as she pulled the young girl into her side to try and suppress her emotions. It would do no good if Bella started crying. "You always have, you just couldn't see it because you'd constantly been told otherwise. Maybe now you'll be able to see what the rest of us see."

"Thank you," Bella choked out around the knot in her throat. "All of you."

Standing at the breakfast nook, waiting for the others, Emmett watched his younger brother pace the length of space between the ceiling-to-floor window and back to one of the openings of the kitchen. He bit into his sandwich and asked, "Dude, why? Why did you wait so long to tell Mother about you and the squirt? You had to have realized that the longer you kept it to yourself, the worse it would be, right?"

Edward sighed loudly and ran his hand through his hair in frustration and answered, "I was trying to protect her, I guess…and a little selfish."

"Explain," Emmett demanded through another bite of his food.

Looking his brother straight in the eye, Edward tried to explain, "You know what Mother is like. Controlling. Manipulative. Unforgiving. Holds a grudge like no other. Always gets her way. Always has to be right. I was being selfish because for the first time, I had something, something Mother didn't know about. She finally couldn't control the decision. This was the very first decision I made on my own on how to run my own damn life. She always has to have things run by her if it doesn't have to do with the organization. Well, I rationalized that Bella did have to do with the organization. That's how she came to be in this house. I finally didn't have to deal with Mother breathing down my neck, making me do something I didn't want to do."

Edward's shoulders slumped in defeat as he watched his brother with defeated eyes. "Go on," Emmett prodded for him to continue as he bit off another mouthful.

"You found Rose, fell in love and got married. You didn't go through years of knowing your own mother was trying to force you to marry a broad you couldn't stand to be in the same room with for more than a second. I didn't, and still don't want to marry Tanya. If Bella hadn't shown up when she did, I would have begged Father to send me to Seattle or something, clear across the country to get away from everything. You know how Mother gets when she wants something. She sinks her teeth into it and doesn't let go, just like a pit bull. She's relentless. And she would have done anything and everything in her power to force me to marry Tanya. I just wanted to be happy."

"I understand where you're coming from, Edward," Jasper replied as he came into the room adjusting his neck tie. "But really, you should have thought about Bella first and foremost before your selfish wants."

Emmett and Edward turned to look at their brother. Emmett was still happily munching on his delicious three tiered, turkey, ham and cheese sandwich. Jasper finished with his tie and stood there looking over at his younger brother, waiting for his counter.

Defensively, Edward told inquired, "And what do you think they're going to do now? What did they immediately start doing upon finding out? Making Bella's life unnecessarily hard. They'll make snide comments and judge her before they know her. I was trying to save her from some of their antics; at least until she was settled and felt comfortable in her own home with people she could trust. Hind sight is 20-20. I realize now I should have told her immediately, but if I saved Bella some heartache along the way, it was worth all of it."

"Calm down, Son," Edward Senior said as he walked into the room while putting on his charcoal grey suit jacket and buttoning it up. "You did what you thought was best. You were protecting her from them the best you could. If I wanted to, I could have told your mother about your marriage back in September or even enlighten her about Tanya's delusional thinking when she first started the rumor you two had an arranged marriage. But I didn't." He sighed, resigned as he ran his hand over his hair and somewhat hopefully asked, "Do you think we can just get through dinner without us killing each other? Let's just get through it and we can get back here and go about our ways without a problem. I don't want any problems while we're out."

They were all silenced when the girls came walking down the stairs. Edward saw his mother first. She was wearing what looked to be a beautiful 1920's golden flapper dress that ended mid thigh with a low cut V-neckline. It had two wide inch straps to hold it up and a slight hourglass figure shape to it to show off the subtle curves Elizabeth had, even after five children.

However, the moment he saw Bella, everything else around him fell away. The sight of Bella, so done up, froze Edward in place. She was a beautiful girl to begin with, even when she was in sweats or pajamas, but here, now, she was stunning, other-worldly, perfect. The dress accentuated her body, showing off her curves and hourglass figure while the black complimented her pale skin making it seem like she glowed. The girls did a wonderful job on her natural looking makeup, only giving her enough to bring out and enhance her natural beauty.

Bella caught Edward staring at her and blushed tomato red as she ducked her face from the attention. Edward reached up and hooked his finger under her chin, gently lifting it so she would look at him. He smiled at her and cupped her cheek in his large, warm hand as he whispered, "Please don't hide from me. I want to see your beautiful face. I want to be able to read the emotion in your expressive eyes."

"Sorry," Bella mumbled an apology.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Little Love. You look absolutely stunning." He mentioned as he quickly tried to elaborate. "You're completely beautiful all the time, but…seeing you like this…for the first time…you're taking my breath away, Love."

"Come on Romeo, let's get to the restaurant. I want food. I'm starving," Emmett replied as he held the door open for everyone. He knew how to get people moving when he needed to eat. It all had to do with the right motivation.

The group split up into two couples to a car and Esme held onto Bella's arm as everyone broke away in the parking garage. Edward and Carlisle walked over to the sleek, black Mercedes with Esme and Bella following behind while whispering to one another.

At the car, Carlisle held the door to the front passenger seat open for Esme, but she declined and hopped into the back behind the driver. She wanted some time to talk to Bella before they got to the restaurant. Besides, Esme didn't want to force Edward to sit in the back seat. She knew he liked one of the front seats because it made him look less like a pansy. Esme wasn't about to make him look like less of a man by taking his seat.

She stepped into the back seat and smoothed out her brown slinky dress. The top was a deep V- cut, but modest with wide shoulders that came to overlap on her chest connected to a wide sash just under her bodice that had an ornate design with faux pearls stitched into the blueprint. The circle skirt, which stopped just below her knees, billowed outward whenever she was hit by a gust of wind, giving her a timeless, classic look that had been around for decades. It suited her personality and modesty.

Edward held open the back door behind the passenger seat and helped Bella in, careful to ensure she was settled fully in her seat before he shut the door and climbed into the car in front of her. Carlisle backed out of their car space, and headed to Jasper's _Bella Italia_.

They were the second car to arrive, only bested by Emmett, driving his Hummer, with Jasper and Alice. Jasper was off in one of the other rooms, organizing the table and getting things ready for the family when the others walked in.

It had begun snowing between the time Carlisle's car arrived and Edward Senior's car pulled up and the four of them came rushing in, Elizabeth and Sculpicia with their purses over their heads to try and keep themselves dry.

When the restaurant door closed and the harsh wind was blocked, Sculpicia looked down at her dress and made a disgusted sound before trying to wipe away the dark spots where the snow had saturated her dress.

She was wearing a strapless wrap-around, Barbie pink, tulle dress with an A-line skirt that stopped just above her knees. It had a sweetheart neckline with an extended wrap sash to tie at the side of her waist. Her skirt was fairly loose, but still showed off her curves. To Alice it was a complete monstrosity, but she would never say that out loud, particularly to Sculpicia's face.

"Why did we have to come out tonight? Why couldn't we have just stayed in the apartment?" Sculpicia complained to no one in particular, still flitting about her dress. Bella ignored her the best she could as she finally stopped to take in her surroundings.

The restaurant was beautiful and reminded Bella of the pictures she had seen of old Italy back when she was in school. Everyone had chosen a European country to do a ten page report on and Bella had chosen Scotland due to having ancestors there, but she remembered little Amber doing her presentation on Italy with all those astonishing pictures and tales of the country.

The walls were an old, fading tan and grey brick that had been used in the ancient houses that now littered the country, adorned with old, timeless black wrought iron street lamp facets, bracketed to the walls. There were matching wrought iron lamps, which looked more like chandeliers, over each of the tables in the center of the room to softly light the dimmer, more intimate atmosphere. There were decorative mirrors and what looked to be windows with the red shutters open and white curtains on the walls to make the space seem bigger while there were artificial potted plants, which looked like they were native to Italy, all over the room to gave it a living, colorful feel. The floors, in tile to recreate off white cobble-stone paths, gave the illusion of being outside at dusk.

The booths around the edges of the room were made of the same bricks as the walls, and were finished with a cushion on the seat that was covered in a red cloth to match the shutters, surrounding black wrought iron tables with a sheet of etched class inlaid and secured in the iron.

In the center of the room, the tables matched their booth counterparts with the black iron and etched glass. The chairs were similar with their design. They were iron as well; they looked like the chairs found in fancy backyard sets, but these seemed more elegant. They matched the décor wonderfully and matched the images of Florence's cafés Bella had seen. They had comfortable matching red cushions tied to each chair seat that matched the booths and shutters.

Bella's eyes couldn't focus on one thing as she tried to take everything in around her. Everything seemed to catch her eye. The entire room was decorated flawlessly and spot on when compared to those old pictures.

The hostess led the group over to a private table in the third room and into the front corner that was reserved for the Cullen family when they came in. They wouldn't be disturbed there for the rest of the night.

Edward pulled out one of the chairs and helped Bella take her seat before he pushed her in and took his seat on her left between her and Carlisle. He watched as Carlisle glanced around him and over at Bella, checking to see if she was flinching much tonight at unexpected noises or movement. He often noticed his brother glancing at his wife, and could tell he was just curious as to how she was doing and how she was coping, but Bella had mentioned in passing once or twice it unnerved her for him to watch her like he did.

Alice, sitting directly across from Bella, quickly delved into a conversation with her about the various dishes and the merits of each on the menu while the others fell into easy conversation with those around them to pass the time until at least the drinks were ordered.

As the volume from their table increased, due to the laughing and joking around, the waitress came to take their orders and the menu's. She couldn't help but flirt with all the men at the table and talk down to the women. She wanted one of the handsome, rich, powerful men she was looking at so she would be set for life, never having to work another day ever again. She had no issues of who she had to step on to get what she wanted. She wanted one of them for herself.

Bella couldn't help but smile at Edward when he ordered as he handed the waitress the menu because he glanced over at Bella and kept eye contact with her, never giving the simpering waitress another glance, or thought. Out of the corner of her eye, Bella could see Beck, the waitress, become annoyed at the lack of response from the gorgeous men. She would usually be able to get and hold men's attention with the low cut light blue top she had to wear, which clung to her body like a second skin, or the black dress pants that did the same.

When the waitress moved away to input the orders into the system and get the drinks, Jasper mumbled loudly to no one in particular, "Looks like I'm going to have to let her go. If she can't even respect her boss and his family, I doubt she can respect the customers that come in."

"See to it that you do," Edward Senior replied, taking in the scenery and décor of the restaurant. "Esme, you did a beautiful job with this place."

Esme beamed at the compliment, which was rare for her father-in-law gave anyone. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. I tried to take the essence of Italy and bring it in here. The idea was to keep it as close to realistic as possible so when you step in here, you are immediately transported to Italy. It's a beautiful place and I wanted that timeless, classic elegance portray here that you see on every corner over there."

Bella's ears perked up as she leaned forward to see Esme around their husbands. "You decorated this place?"

Smiling, Esme nodded and opened her mouth to respond when Sculpicia interrupted with a scoff, "Yes. She designed it. That's what she does best. She designed everyone's work places and the apartment. Where have you been?"

"Sculpicia." Senior scolded around Elizabeth, two seats down from the girl, really wanting to prevent another altercation. "Bite your tongue."

Turning her eyes to her father-in-law, her anger and fire deflated somewhat and asked, "What? It's not like she doesn't know what we all do in our spare time-"

"I don't care," he interrupted as the waitress came back with the drinks. "I don't want any drama tonight. We've had enough the past couple of weeks to last a lifetime."

"Your meals should be ready momentarily. It'll just be a second," she giggled annoyingly, her eyes glued to Edward yet again.

Bella rolled her eyes at the blatant flirting, with which the annoying woman was trying to snatch her husband away, leaned in close to him and whispered, "I think you have an admirer."

Nodding, Edward asked, "What gave you that impression?"

"Oh, I don't know," she responded as she reached up with her left hand and ran her fingers through his hair, clearly showing off the ring on her finger, although trying to do it nonchalantly.

Even through the unbelievable sensations, Edward managed a chuckle at Bella's obvious intentions. "Why, Little Love, are you marking your territory?"

With narrowing eyes, Bella glared at him playfully before she told him, "If it was socially acceptable, I would pee on your leg like a dog to mark you as mine, right here, right now."

The loud, boisterous belly laugh that bubbled from Edward's throat startled most of the table before they went back to their conversations. He pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head as he mumbled quietly so only she could hear, "I love you so much, Little Love."

Bella looked up at him with a gentle smile on her face and replied, "ditto."

A moment later, a waiter approached the table and whispered something in Jasper's ear, causing him to stand and go over to a table where a little old lady and man were sitting. He spoke with them for a moment, laughing and nodded while they engaged him in conversation. He called over a waiter and told him what he wanted for the couple before wishing them a good dining experience and returned to the Cullen's table.

Curious, Alice immediately pounced on him and asked, "What was that about?"

Jasper pulled his petite wife in close and responded, "It's their fiftieth wedding anniversary tonight and I wanted to speak to them for a moment. They told me they met in high school and have been together ever since. They married at the age of eighteen and have six children, nineteen grandchildren and five great grandchildren with another two on the way."

"Oh! How sweet! Did you at least give them an all expenses paid dinner?" Alice asked looking back over at the old, cute looking couple, still in love with stars in their eyes after all those years.

"Don't worry, Darlin', everything's paid for, including a nice bottle of wine."

"Thank you Jazzy. You're a wonderful man," she whispered, turning away from the couple to smile at him.

As the scrumptious dinner was coming to an end that night, Bella couldn't wait anymore. She needed to go to the bathroom and had for the past hour and a half. She had been trying to hold back until they got home since she didn't like using public restrooms, but she couldn't hold it anymore. "I think I'm going to use the litter box," Bella quietly told Edward as she set her napkin on the table at the side of her plate. Edward stood and helped her pull her chair out. She pushed it back in, leaving her jacket on the back of the chair.

"Wait for me. I'll go with you," Alice begged as she put her napkin on the table near her plate and went to stand.

Bella leaned down to kiss the top of Edward's head when a loud bang resonated throughout the building. The men all seemed to react immediately, diving over their friends, family members and wives. Edward did the same to Bella, throwing them both down to the floor.

Cracking her head forcefully against the hardwood floor as she fell, Bella landed with an "Omph!" The black spots clouded her vision momentarily as more loud pops and the sound of glass shattering resounded through the air, causing most in the restaurant to scream in fear and concern for the others in their party.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for everything to end. The loud sounds brought her back to the age of eleven when her father was murdered. She would never forget the sounds. She would have recognized gunshots anywhere.

The sounds around her brought back the terrible scene she had witnessed of her father. Each pop of the guns transported her back to the moment she heard them that day. She watched from the passenger seat of the car with wide, fearful eyes as her father's vest took six bullets. She thought everything would be fine, the wind would be knocked out of him and he would be black and blue for a while, but he would go largely uninjured. That's what the vest was supposed to do, prevent the bullets from injuring the officer, but it all changed when the high velocity blood sprayed from the side of his neck with the next bullet. The scream bubbled from her throat as the other car's tires screeched and peeled off.

Not wasting a single second, Bella jumped out of the car and ran over to her father as fast as her little legs could carry her. She collapsed onto her knees on the pavement near his head and grabbed her father up in her arms, trying to put pressure on his neck wound to keep him alive. Charlie was able to choke out a bloody "I love you," one last time, desperate to remind her of his love, before he bled to death from a knick in one of the major arteries in his neck.

The screaming and gunshots seemed to go on forever. Glass could be heard shattering nearby every now and then when a stray bullet hit something and when Bella turned her head to the side to see if the others were unharmed, she saw the pieces skittering across the floor.

She could see Alice on the other side of the table, completely covered by Jasper as he covered her face to protect it from the falling glass. She was so small that his body sheltered all of Alice's. Bella could only see one very worried, terrified eye of her friend from below Jasper's arm. The one eye was darting all around, trying to take in as much of the scene that she could while processing the situation.

It happened differently for everybody. For some, it would pass in a flash, for others it would seem to drag on forever. For Bella, the entire situation seemed to move in slow motion. She saw everything clearly, even through all the bedlam surrounding her.

Objects were flying through the air from where they had been placed throughout the restaurant. Everything was pandemonium. Everything was shaken up and turned upside down. Nothing was ending and all Bella could think about were the lifeless eyes of her father and pray that everyone else was going to be alright. _How could so much pain, suffering and death happen to her? Had she done something wrong in a previous life and Karma was now coming back to take its revenge on her, demanding she pay that debt? Everyone she'd ever loved had died, had been taken away from her, yet she was still here. She hoped Edward wouldn't leave her too._

Edward turned to look at his brothers as he made sure to keep Bella covered protectively. As more glass rained down on them, he reached into the back of his pant's waistband for the gun he always carried and waited for them to pause their shooting. He was hoping he would get at least one for scaring his family, him and most importantly Bella.

Bella managed to wrench her head back to see Esme, who had been sitting next to her, close by with her arms over her head to shield herself as Carlisle protected her. She was in a fetal position on her side, trying to make herself as small a target as possible.

These drive bys weren't unheard of by a rival family, but nobody had ever had the gall to go after the Cullen's. Everyone knew Edward Senior would stop at nothing to seek revenge if something like this put anyone in his family in jeopardy. He would not stand for his family to be in harm's way. Nothing would stop him short of getting the person or persons responsible for the attack. Nobody messed with Edward Senior's family because it would be the last thing they ever did. Going after the Cullen's was suicide.

Wrapping his arms around Bella tighter as she whimpered, he looked down into her frightened eyes and prayed all of this would end soon. The shooters had been at it for almost three minutes already, which is a long time when you're praying to which ever God you believe in, to just spare you and your family from death. They must have been driving extremely slow and had multiple shooters in the car too, because it seemed as if the bullets and bangs never stopped from their steady stream.

Edward quietly mouthed his prayers as he clutched at Bella tightly, hoping everything would be alright. He needed everything to be okay. He had just found Bella just a few months prior, he didn't know if he could go on without her. He needed her now like he needed air to breath, water to drink, food to eat. He needed her because she had become a part of him. _How could life be so cruel as to give a person what they had been looking for their entire lives, just to take it away a short while later? How was that fair? Death couldn't have Bella or him today. He wouldn't allow it. Bella was his and he was going to keep her at any and all costs._ He was in no way ready to give Bella up for any circumstances, least of all death.

Bella glanced above Esme's curled body and saw a plant on a shelf near a painting. It was so lush and green looking. It stuck out to her for some odd reason. With all the shooting and everything around her, here was this plant, untouched and thriving. Bella watched it for a moment, marveled at how something so…small…so insignificant could survive in all this chaos. It seemed surreal to her. How something, so small, could capture her attention was unknown, but in the next moment, the pot shattered, sending soil all over the place and causing the plant to fall to the floor, slowly dying.

When the shooting finally stopped and the bullets ceased whizzing through the air, there was a moment of dead silence before all hell broke loose yet again, this time with voices. Throughout the air, as people started to gain their bearings and discover if their parties were unhurt, the crying and screaming of tormented living seeped into the air. It was heart wrenching to hear the anguish and grief in the cries of men and women alike. The despair and mourning hung in the air like a thick cloud, choking anyone who discovered an injured or dead loved one nearby.

Looking down at Bella below him, and brushing her hair out of her face to see her, he frantically asked, worried for her safety, "Are you okay?"

Nodding as the adrenaline coursed through her veins, Bella breathed out in relief as Edward rolled off her. He helped her up and went to go run after the car that had destroyed the restaurant when Edward Senior called him back and had Aro go instead, since he had been trained on this particular type of pursuit. Emmett and Jasper followed him out with their guns to help after they made sure their spouses were fine. Senior, Carlisle and Edward stayed in the restaurant with the girls to see what they could help with, and who they could help.

Helping random, innocent victims to the violence, Carlisle and Senior did their best to keep people alive until the paramedics arrived. There were only a few serious wounds that needed to be attended and once Carlisle told others how to help the wounded, he left to go help others. Edward checked on Bella one more time before checking that everyone else in the family was unharmed and finally turning to the others in the restaurant to lend a hand.

Ignoring the graze to his left arm, which would be attended to later, when everything had calmed, Edward was helping Amy, the older woman from earlier in the night, off the floor and into a nearby chair as Carlisle gently closed her husband's eyes on the floor. He looked over at Edward with sadness in his eyes and Edward grabbed a napkin from the table to stop the bleeding from her forehead.

Bella watched as the woman turned to seek out her husband, but Edward kept her eyes forward on him. He didn't want her to see her husband dead, with a bullet to the temple and another to the throat. He wanted her to have only good memories when thinking about him. As the old woman realized what happened and started breaking down, Edward pulled her in close to his chest to console her and continuously whispered in her ear that everything was going to be all right.

The care and compassion Bella saw in Edward's features astounded her. This man was her husband and even though he was Mafia and killed people, he truly did have a soft, gentle side. That's when the light bulb went off and she realized, he always used that soft side with her. There wasn't one moment she could think of since they met that he had been crass, mean or physical with her. It was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment she knew everything would change between them.

But when she went to take a step closer to Edward to try and help comfort the hysterical woman, a side splitting, sharp pain shot through her body, originating from her side. Bella grunted slightly as she touched at the area, trying to determine what was wrong. When she pulled her hand away, she saw the all too familiar sticky, crimson blood that stained her hand.

At the sight of blood, her breathing became labored and she blinked quickly to keep from fainting from the stench of sickly copper and gun powder that was covering the restaurant. It was an all too familiar scene to Bella and she tried desperately to keep all the images out of her mind as they bombarded her. She felt her stomach roll and frantically fought to keep the nausea from taking over. She didn't know if she would be able to actually throw up or not because of the pain.

"Bella?" Alice asked, horrified at the blood on her hand.

She looked up at the pixie, looking dazed and a little confused. The yellow dress Alice was wearing was cut in various places. The bodice had been a pale yellow with darker lace overlay that was now splotched with numerous liquids. The sash around her hips that narrowed and came together at the center with a small gold broach was cut and the right side was hanging limply at her side. The light yellow chiffon skirt that stopped right below her knees was sliced into rags and drenched with mysterious liquids from the broken glasses that had shattered on the dinner table during the shooting. Her one golden strappy designer high heeled sandal had come off in the altercation and the other's heel had broken off.

Bella's brows furrowed at the devastated look from Alice and opened her mouth to reassure her, but nothing would come out. She could feel the energy and life draining from her and slowly dripping down her dress to the floor. For the life of her, Bella couldn't move to stop it. The shock seeped deep into her bones and prevented her from doing anything; feeling anything. Her breathing was coming out in labored breaths as she tried to fill her lungs again. It wasn't working.

"Bella!"Alice screamed to her friend loudly, getting the attention of the men just as Bella's legs collapsed beneath her.

She tried to steady herself on a nearby table top with one of her hands, but her hand slipped from the spilled fluids and she landed with a heavy thud on her knees. The sharp sting reverberated up her legs, through her torso and up into her head making everything throb painfully. Not able to hold herself up, she fell back onto her back, her head hitting the solid floor with a loud crack as her legs slowly slid from below her out to her side to correct the odd angle beneath her. She lay there, looking at the spotless, off white ceiling for a brief moment, wondering, _is this what it feels like to die? Does it always hurt this much? Is this what the rest of my family experienced when they were slipping away into the eternal darkness?_ But she couldn't die. She had so much to live for now. She had Edward, a family, and a place she finally felt like she belonged. It couldn't end this way.

Blinking slowly, she opened her eyes again to see Edward hovering over her before she felt the stabbing pain in her side where he was trying to stop the free-flowing bleeding from what looked to be a gunshot wound. She cried out pitifully as she saw the worry and despair etched in Edward's face.

"Carlisle!" Edward yelled never taking his eyes off his injured wife. "Bella, you're going to be okay. I promise. Everything's going to be just fine." He was hoping that it wasn't a lie.

Bella tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace than anything else. She whimpered again as the pain became unbearable and squeezed her eyes shut to try and block it out.

"No. No. No, Little Love. You've got to keep your eyes open for me. Let me see your beautiful eyes," Edward begged before calling, "Carlisle! I need help over here!"

Bella wrenched her eyes open again as Carlisle came rushing over. He saw Bella lying on the floor, barely moving and swore to himself as he forced himself to go faster. When he got to them, he motioned for Edward to move so he could look at the wound and Edward didn't have to be told twice, moving to the other side of Bella and grabbing her cooling hand in his as Carlisle tried to work with the few supplies he had at his disposal.

Rose, Esme and Alice all stood, watching and crying as their friend slipped further and further away from them with every drop of blood lost. None of them knew what to do to help. They stood frozen in their spots, watching and praying Bella would survive. Each of the family members, married in or born in, knew the risks of associating with the family. They each knew the possible outcomes and what they could lose. Each of them knew that the chances of them getting hurt emotionally or physically was great, but the men they were married to were worth every second of it.

Reaching up, Edward brushed at some hair that had matted down to her sweat soaked face, off to the side and cupped her cheek as he smiled, trying to be encouraging. "Everything's going to be just fine. I'll make sure of it. You're going to be fine," he pleaded, trying to convince her as well as himself.

"I'm not-" Bella choked out weakly. "I'm not scared. I'm not scared anymore."

"Scared of what?" Edward asked her, trying to understand what she was saying.

Bella tried to smile reassuringly up at him, but it came off as a grimace again. "I'm not scared of saying it anymore-" she choked, coughing up some blood. The blood splattered across her chin and cheeks as it got harder and harder to breathe.

Edward ran his hand across her forehead, brushing the remaining tendrils of hair off her cooling face and begged her, "Please. It's okay. Please don't talk. Save your energy. Everything's going to be fine. Just save your energy. The paramedics are almost here. They'll help you. Everything's going to be okay, Little Love."

"I- I didn't see before," she continued weakly as if he hadn't interrupted her. "How much you really do love me…" Her breathing was almost in gasps as Carlisle tried his best to stop the bleeding until the paramedics arrived. He couldn't do much else without his black bag. All he could do was put pressure on her wound until the paramedics could get there and help her.

Edward nodded down at her, still brushing her face and hair. "I do, Little Love. I love you."

The paramedics and police barged through the doors of the restaurant, unnoticed by the Cullen party as their eyes were glued on Bella and Edward. One of the male paramedics took Carlisle's place and immediately started hooking Bella up to IV's and other drips, trying to get her pulse and blood pressure up.

"Please don't-" she choked on a sob and the blood that was pooling in her lungs as she gripped Edward's hand as tight as her frail body could. Edward could see the spark leaving her eyes and her life leaving her features as she got weaker and weaker. "Please don't forget…I love you," she choked out feebly as her eyes finally closed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again, I am not a doctor, nor will I ever be so please forgive me if I got anything wrong in way of health and medical care in this chapter (and probably the next as well). Is it the end for Bella and Edward or am I just teasing? You'll just have to wait and see.**

**Just a reminder, Edward has been under the thumb of a controlling, manipulative mother his entire life. He's also human. He just wanted something for himself that his mother wouldn't destroy, at least for a while.**

**A huge, gargantuan, humongous, emphatic THANK YOU to my beta, TwiSNFan for all the hard work and long hours she puts in to making my story readable. Seriously, without her, I doubt anyone, including me, could make sense out of it. She puts up with so much from me and I am so grateful for it.**

**Leave a review, if you could, even if it's just a few words. It means a lot to me when people take just a second to let me know how I'm doing. Tell me what I need to work on, tell me what I seem to be doing right, just tell me something. And surprise! My wonderful beta lurks on here to read the reviews too! She likes to see what you think of everything, that includes the layout and what she could improve upon as well. Leave some love for her. It's a learning experience for both of us and we can't learn without feedback. But please, make it constructive criticism. Don't be mean, just for the sake of being mean. That helps absolutely no one.**

**I am graduating college this semester and am in the middle of finals the next couple of weeks, moving out of the dorms and back home all while trying to find a job that I'm qualified for. Wish me luck! I will get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but it may be a few weeks. Don't come after me with pitch forks and fire. If everything's at the worst, I'll be able to start writing on the 24th again. I just wanted to tell you what's going on with me in case some of you get curious as to not having updates for a week or two.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: It's shorter than the other chapters, but I figured I'd better get the next chapter out before the mob of angry readers comes after me. You can put the pitchforks, shovels and torches down now. The next chapter is here. Read on before you come after me to burn me at the stake!**

**I don't own anything except the plot ideas. SM is the proud owner of Twilight. Too bad too, I'd love the retirement nest egg that it gave her. *Sigh* Maybe someday.**

The ambulance and emergency room visit were hectic and worrisome for Edward. He wouldn't leave Bella's side for a moment, even when the doctors and nurses tried to push him out of the room. He wouldn't budge just in case that moment with her would be their last. He didn't want to miss anything.

The feelings of despair only got worse when they wheeled Bella up to the operating room and wouldn't let him follow. One of the male nurses had to forcibly keep him in the waiting room, telling him his wife was in good hands and she would be fine as long as the doctors were able to do their jobs without having to watch over him as well.

Edward finally collapsed into one of the hard, blue plastic waiting room chairs and covered his face with his hands, blocking out the rest of the world, including Emmett and Rosalie, who sat close by without encroaching on his space. From an early age, he had been taught to always keep his attention on those around him to keep himself alive, but in that moment, if Bella didn't survive, he didn't want to either. He ran his hands over his face before they ran through his hair. He tugged harshly at it to keep the frustration at bay – to prevent himself from running into the operating room to be with his Bella.

The others would be coming as soon as they were done with the restaurant. They needed to go over the scene and speak to the police before they would be able to come and give Edward and Bella their full support. Carlisle would help make sense of the medical jargon that would be thrown about to explain Bella's prognosis. Edward was glad because he wanted to make sure she had the best care and would pull through.

Sitting there, in the mostly empty waiting room, Edward's mind cruelly replayed the moment he was alerted to something wrong and looked over to her. She just stood there with a dazed, confused look on her face as she tried to make sense of the blood on her hand. He had seen that look many times before, on faces of his colleagues when the adrenaline was still coursing through their bodies and the shock was just setting in. The wound would start hurting then and even the strongest of men would have passed out from the excruciating pain. The fact that Bella hadn't collapsed immediately showed him just how strong she could be.

Edward sat there, praying she would come out of this relatively unharmed. He knew this life would take its toll on those around him, even hurt or kill them, but he had been hoping that it wouldn't be those who he loved, those that he couldn't live without; his Bella. They all knew the risks, but at the same time they didn't think anyone was stupid enough to go after all of them, including the women, essentially declaring war on them.

Hours passed without a word from the doctors or nurses about Bella. The others still hadn't arrived, yet Edward understood that. It took the police forever to get the situation under control before they could start getting the statements from everybody. Edward hoped that was a good sign, yet still prayed that it would all be over soon. He needed to see her soon. He could feel himself loosing touch with reality and just needed to make sure she was alive and well, and then he could stop acting and thinking crazy. Edward's wish came soon enough; even knowing didn't prevent him from feeling the insanity creeping up on him.

"Swan family," the doctor called to the waiting room, looking for the family of the young woman he had been operating on.

Edward jumped to his feet as he asked, "Yes?" Emmett, Edward, and Rosalie looked over at the doctor and stood, waiting for the doctor to approach them.

Walking over to the gaggle of people he would speak to, he took his surgical cap off and stopped at the threesome. He saw the worried and scared looks on their faces like any other family he had to inform. He was a very competent surgeon, yet this was the part of the job he did not like, informing the families.

"Is she okay?" Edward asked frantically before the surgeon could even open his mouth.

"Are you her family?" the doctor asked, skeptical to speak with them about her condition until he understood the relationship between his patient and the man before him.

Nodding, Edward replied, "Yes. I'm her husband. Edward Cullen."

"Cullen?" the doctor asked as his eyes widened in shock. "Any relation to Carlisle?"

Put out by not getting information on Bella and her condition, he growled, "Carlisle's my brother. Now, what about-?"

"Miss Swan is stable. She's not out of the woods yet. She-"

Edward interrupted the explanation, asking, "What does that mean? She could still die?"

Patting him on the shoulder, Emmett tried to diffuse the growing situation. "Edward, man, give the doctor some time to explain what's going on. It doesn't help anyone when you interrupt him constantly."

"Yes, thank you," the surgeon stated looking at Emmett with gratitude. "She is doing much better, but she suffered serious injuries and blood loss, however-" the doctor tried to explain.

Cutting the doctor off again, Edward's voice grew louder as he pointed back to the door the doctor had exited from. "Well go back and fix her!"

"Edward." Carlisle called as he walked into the room and over to his younger brother. He wasn't used to Edward being this hot-headed, but when it came to Bella, he wasn't surprised in the least. "Just calm down. Let him explain."

"But-"

"Edward," Carlisle reprimanded, looking from Edward back to the surgeon. "Nice to see you again, Dr. Tavern, please continue."

"Nice to see you too, Dr. Cullen, although I wish it were under better circumstances. As I was trying to explain to your brother, Dr. Cullen, Miss Swan can still go either way. You know about the chances and statistics regarding these types of wounds."

Carlisle nodded and inquired, "What did you have to do?"

The doctor sighed and replied, "She had to have a blood transfusion to counteract the loss. She was in shock when she was brought in here. The gunshot wound was gnarly. The bullet I extracted looked like a hollow point, which was designed to mushroom on impact inflicting maximum destruction. I had to reconnect her stomach after taking a large section out. It was just too mangled to reattach. Did she hit her head by any chance?"

"Twice," Edward answered. "When I tackled her to the floor when the shooting started and then again when she collapsed after she realized she'd been shot."

Nodding, the doctor replied, "I thought so. She has brain swelling. Dr. Cullen, you know what the procedures are at this hospital for this sort of situation."

Carlisle nodded grimly, knowing exactly what the surgeon was telling him, while Edward looked from one doctor to the other, desperately asking with his eyes for one of them to explain it to him. Carlisle was the first one to crack first. He explained in layman's terms the procedure of what was probably going to happen. "With severe swelling, which it sounds like she has, doctors tend to medically induce a coma until the inflammation recedes. I don't know how critical Bella's situation is, but-"

The doctor interrupted to speak about Bella's case specifically. "I'll need another MRI at a later time considering the rushed first one, but it seems like the double concussion resulted in a small bleed. We induced a coma to keep her comfortable and keep her from waking up and making it worse. I did not want to open her skull and either put a shunt in to reduce the swelling or cauterize the wound. She had already lost a lot of blood and head wounds tend to bleed a lot. I wanted to get her stable before I worried about how to fix the bleed."

The keening whimper that escaped Edward was painful to hear for those around him. He needed to sit down to prevent himself from falling down. Carlisle guided him over to one of the nearby chairs as he collapsed, Edward's knees giving out from under him.

"Edward-" Carlisle called, worried about his state of mind as well as his physical state.

Ignoring Carlisle, Edward looked up at the surgeon and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

Answering for the surgeon, Carlisle looked at Edward and said, "There are several ways we can go about the bleed, Edward. We can go in and cauterize the wound, but that would have its own set of problems. There are chances something may go wrong which may result in Bella having some memory issues, and possibly having to relearn everyday things. We can go in and put the shunt in, but we'd probably have to go in and remove it at a later date, which has twice the risks with the two surgeries. I want to repeat myself when I say there's always a possibility something could go wrong, Edward. There's a third option, which is where we wait it out and see if the bleeding stops on its own. There's still a chance we'll need to get her into surgery if it doesn't stop. Bella is your wife; you're the only one who has the power to make medical decisions for her since she can't at the moment."

"Is it at all possible she could get better without the surgery?" Edward pleaded not knowing what to do for the first time in his life. What made the situation worse was this was the first time he desperately needed to know what to do to save Bella.

Unsure of what to tell Edward, trying not to get his hopes up, Carlisle told Edward "it's not unheard of. I've seen it happened before, but the chances of it happening are slim to none." Seeing his youngest brother as distraught as he appeared to be, made Carlisle hurt for him. Esme had never been injured like this before and Carlisle was thankful he had never had to live through this kind of heartache. He didn't want to think about his wife going through something like this.

The surgeon stood there, waiting for instructions on what Edward wanted to do. Something needed to happen. Soon. Otherwise they would be waiting to see if she came through on her own. "I'm sorry, but I need an answer relatively soon." The tone the surgeon took with the distraught husband was soft and gentle. He needed to use his comforting bedside manner to get some sort of decision out of the man.

Sitting down next to Edward, Carlisle put a comforting arm around him and gently asked, "What do you want to do? It's up to you."

A wounded, broken whimper escaped Edward as he tugged on his hair sharply. For the first time in his life, Edward felt like a rabid animal, with those that were there to capture him closing in on him. He felt like he needed to do something - lash out, anything to break free. The desperate, desolate feeling deep in his soul had never been felt before. He didn't know what to do to make it go away.

Edward had always been quick to act with no concern for his own welfare, but this time he had to worry about Bella. _What would she want him to do? Which way would bring her back to him? How would she react when she awoke?_ He hoped he wasn't out of line with whatever he ultimately decided to do.

The anguish and grief in Edward's eyes when he looked at his brother was heart wrenching for the older man, but the soft cry nearly killed Carlisle. "I can't! I can't hurt her! Please. Please don't make me choose, Carlisle. I can't choose. I can't make that decision. What if she gets hurt? What if she doesn't come back to me? I just found her Carlisle. I can't make the decision that ends her life. I can't lose her so quickly. I just found her." Edward's words slowly fell from the strong voice Carlisle was used to down to barely a whisper. The way he was crumbling before Carlisle's eyes was gut wrenching and he hoped he would never see it again. He hoped Bella pulled through; otherwise Edward would surely slip away for good. "Please don't make me decide, Carlisle."

"Edward-" Carlisle tried to reason with his distraught brother.

"No-" Edward interrupted him again. "I can't do it. I can't hurt her. I won't be responsible for harming her in any way. I can't- I won't- Carlisle!" Edward begged pitifully as he tugged dangerously on his unruly hair.

Two warm, small arms wrapped around Edward's shoulders and Alice's cheek came to rest on the top of his head. She was trying to calm him but, having just arrived, she was trying to get information on Bella's status, too. She was scared to ask when Edward was in this condition. He looked like she had taken a turn for the worse…or didn't make it…

Carlisle turned and saw Jasper hurrying into the waiting room. He looked frazzled and unkempt. He ran his hand through his ear length locks and grimaced when he saw the blood splotches on his shirt sleeves. There was no way that was coming out, but this time they all had an excuse as to why there was blood on their clothing.

Noticing how Edward was falling apart, Jasper deviated over to Carlisle and knelt down before asking him quietly, "Hey, How's she doing?"

Shaking his head once, Carlisle grimaced, "I'm glad you're here. I'm going to need some help trying to keep Edward from falling apart completely. She's not doing too well." The quiet timber of his voice didn't reach Edward through his anguish as he continued to pull his hair. "We're trying to determine which way we want to proceed. Edward has the power to make the decision since he is her husband, but he can't decide what he wants to do. I don't think he'll ever be able to say the words and I don't blame him. I wouldn't be able to make that kind of decision with Esme's life hanging in the balance."

"Neither would I," Jasper mumbled looking over at his wife, still squeezing the life out of his brother. "Father is finishing up with the police right now. He said he'd be by as soon as possible. They aren't being much help. It seems like they were trying to interrogate us on completely irrelevant stuff rather than getting information about the shooters. Father's having a field day with them since they're more worried about us than them. When Ali and I left, the others were just getting back. I didn't get any information on any of what happened with Aro and Emmett, but they must have found something because they told me to double back and make sure I was present and accounted for with the police. They wanted me back since it was my restaurant and all."

"I need to know what you want to do, Mr. Cullen," The doctor inquired.

Another anguished whimper escaped Edward as he started rocking back and forth with his hands in his hair. Alice continued to try and calm him as Carlisle asked the surgeon, "Do you think we may have a little more time? It's a big decision and I'm not sure has the ability to make it at the moment."

Trying to do anything he could for his patient, the doctor responded, "If we wait too much longer, we won't be able to do anything. I need an answer quickly."

"Understood," Carlisle responded. "We just need a little more time."

Nodding, the surgeon turned to leave, but Edward stopped him by asking, "Can I see her? Can I see Bella?"

"She's being transferred and set up in the ICU right now. You can go back in ten minutes when the nurses are done. The rules state only one or two people in the room at a time."

The surgeon spoke to Carlisle for a few more minutes, trying to determine what would be the best way to go with Bella before leaving the family to discuss the options.

Alice leaned closer to Edward's ear over his shoulder and asked, "I'm going to go get her some flowers and whatnot from the gift shop. Anything I should know? Favorite colors? Favorite flowers?"

"Um…" Edward racked his brain for any answer. "She doesn't like warm colors. She likes cool colors, blue, green, and purple… I don't know her favorite flowers…"

"Don't worry, I'll make it work," she replied jumping down from Edward's back. She grabbed Jasper's hand to leave when Carlisle stopped them.

"No real flowers. It's against hospital policy to have real flowers in the ICU. They could carry bacteria and cause respiratory issues. Maybe some stuffed animals or balloons or something."

Smiling brightly, Alice patted Carlisle's shoulder and replied, "Have no fear. I'll make something work. I always do." She dragged Jasper out of the room to help her carry the entire hospital gift shop she would no doubt be bringing back to place in Bella's room.

The ten minutes Edward had to wait to see Bella were the longest in his life. His leg was bouncing in place and his fingers never left his hair as he tugged. Carlisle tried to speak calmly to him before he jumped up and started shooting people. It seemed Carlisle had done a good job because no one had been hurt by the time the nurses came to collect Edward and take him back to Bella's room.

Edward literally jumped up and sprinted over to the nurse when she called for him. He wanted to get back and see her. The nurse explained the rules of the ICU to Edward as they walked back to the right room but Edward tuned her out. All he could think about was his Bella. His Bella was hurt. His Bella was injured. His Bella was in pain. All the while, there was nothing he could to do stop it and it killed him inside.

When the nurse and Edward arrived at the room, Edward didn't waste a second before he was over at Bella's side and clutching her small, cool hand in his own. He leaned down and kissed her knuckles tenderly as the nurse brought a chair over to him so that he could sit down at the side of the bed without having to leave his wife to retrieve a seat.

The nurse left sometime later. Edward couldn't have told anyone what she had said to him or what she did. He didn't even realize she had left. He just sat there by the side of the bed, grasping Bella's hand like it was his life raft, gently brushing hair out of her pale, gaunt face and back onto the pillow as he quietly begged her for answers. He didn't know what he was doing and needed some advice and she was the only one who could tell him what she needed. He didn't want to make the wrong choice that hurt her even more. She had already been hurt so much in her life, by those who were supposed to love her unconditionally. He didn't want to be another one of those people she thought she could count on, but in the end found she couldn't.

"Little Love," Edward quietly pleaded. "I need you to tell me what to do. I don't want to make things worse. If I ever hurt you… I'd never forgive myself. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'll do anything you want, just tell me what that is. Please." Edward choked out as his eyes started stinging.

It had been years since he last cried. The stinging and subsequent wetness was foreign to him, but it wasn't all that unexpected. Bella was his one and only weakness. He wasn't above admitting that. He knew if anything happened to her he wouldn't be able to survive it. She was his heart. She was the one thing in the world that kept his heart beating, his lungs breathing and his eyes opening each morning. If he lost her in any capacity, he knew he would whiter away and die. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. He couldn't imagine what he would look like when he refused to get out of bed after a week, or eat something after two. She was his anchor, even the short time she'd been in his life. If she left, he wouldn't be long behind her.

Edward gently cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her bottom lip before he leaned down and gently kissed them in a soft, lingering, pleading kiss. When he sat back up a lone, renegade tear sped down his cheek and dropped onto her lips. He kissed her forehead with the same gentleness but kept his lips attached to her cool skin. He asked against her skin quietly, "please come back to me, Little Love? I don't know what I would do without you here with me. I need you in my life now. You have to be okay. You just have to. Please. We need our happily ever after. I'll believe in fairy tales if you just come back to me. I'll believe whatever you want me to. I love you, Little Love."

Carlisle quietly entered the ICU room, pointedly ignoring Edward's tears as he quietly spoke to his wife. This was a time all the Cullen's would overlook the tears because any one of them would do the same in his position. It was disconcerting to see, to say the least. Edward never cried about anything. When his grandparents died, when his friends died, he stood stoic, yet here he was weeping openly. He took a spot on the other side of the room to keep Edward company and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Carlisle grabbed Bella's chart and looked it over before Alice waltzed back in with Jasper in tow.

The arms full of beautiful cool colored flowers were perfect for Bella. Carlisle was about to say something about the live flowers when he realized they weren't real. The silk flowers were beautiful and looked so real. There were all shades of blues and purples with plenty of greenery to give it color. Alice danced around the room placing each of the beautiful vases around to give the bare room some sort of color and life. Lastly, she put a small little panda bear near Bella's side that had a bright red heart in its hands that said, 'Get Well Soon'.

Alice kept busy for she knew the moment she stopped running a mile a minute she would break down. She was trying to put that off until she and Jasper got home that night so nobody else would see her grieving. She really hoped Bella would pull through for everyone's sake. She knew Edward would never be the same if Bella didn't make it. Most importantly for Alice, she didn't want to lose a good friend.

"I told you I'd make something work, didn't I? I got her one of every plant in the gift shop that wasn't red, yellow, pink or orange. The best part about it, they look real and after she gets out of here, she won't have to worry about watering the plants. She could have a black thumb and they'd still look gorgeous. Do you think she'll like it?" Alice asked of anyone expectantly.

Answering for Edward, Carlisle smiled at her and told her, "She'll love it, Alice. I bet if you got her just one she'd be happy to know you were thinking of her."

"I know," Alice replied with a smile of her own. "She's awesome like that. She's not materialistic like most girls are nowadays. I'm not materialistic, except for clothes. Those are my weakness."

"They only want two people in the room at a time, Alice and I are going to go wait with Emmett and Rose out in the waiting room," Jasper explained to Carlisle when Alice had finished placing all the plants strategically around the room for maximum cheer and color. Edward was oblivious though. He was too concerned with Bella to notice much of anything else.

Unnoticed to Edward whose sole focus was on Bella, his family came in one by one as they arrived at the hospital, each taking a moment to be with the wounded girl and trying to speak to Edward. The parade of people ended just after sunup, but by night fall Edward still didn't move as he sat on the edge of Bella's hospital bed, pleading for an answer on what to do.

At some point during the night, Edward fell asleep curled around Bella's warming body. He was on the opposite side of the wound on her torso with his head snuggled tightly into her chest with his one arm over her, resting just under her breasts with the other under her head and pillow. His legs had tangled with hers at some point and his shoes magically had disappeared to the floor below the bed, kicked off sometime during the night.

When Edward opened his eyes, he was face to face with her breast. He yawned slightly before pressing his face further into the soft flesh, his ears picking up the beautiful sound of her heart monitor beeping steadily, strongly. It was music to his ears. His arms constricted around her, holding her tighter as his eyes closed again.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked quietly from the chair in the corner.

Groaning, Edward pressed his face further into Bella's chest, trying to hide from the world where it couldn't hurt him or his wife. He didn't want to have to face the day without her by his side. _How had he grown to need Bella so much over just a few short months?_ He needed her the day after he met her and he was just starting to realize just how much he relied on her to be right there next to him to help guide him and be his best friend.

"Go away," Edward mumbled against the thin hospital gown and gripped Bella tighter.

Edward heard the sounds of Carlisle moving in his chair before he told him, "Edward, the doctor came by an hour ago. He looked at the test results. It doesn't look good."

Looking up at his brother, Edward watched as Carlisle sat forward in the chair. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"The doctor thinks we waited too long to make a decision on how we wanted to proceed with Bella's treatment. The only thing we can do now is wait. He won't operate on her and he won't put a shunt in her brain. He says it's too risky now, and I tend to agree with him on that. It could still go either way."

"What- what does that mean?" Edward asked laying his head down on Bella's soft chest again, not willing to let her go even if the apocalypse was upon them.

Carlisle sighed and explained it slowly and carefully so Edward would understand. "It means there's a chance she may not come out of this. She may die-"

"No!" Edward shouted, interrupting Carlisle.

Not willing to let him get riled up and not listen to what else he had to say, Carlisle continued and spoke over his irate and worried brother. "But that doesn't mean she couldn't come out of this without any lasting damage. There's still a chance she may wake up tomorrow without any lasting side effects. I don't want to get your hopes up, because that rarely happens, but it's possible. You have to be ready for either possibility. Even if she does wake up, she may have some brain damage. It all depends."

"I can't lose her, Carlisle," Edward whispered brokenly as he curled around Bella's body as if to protect her from an unseen danger. "She just said she loved me, Carlisle. I want to hear her say it again without the threat of death forcing her to get the words out before it's too late. I want her to say them of her own volition. I don't think I'll survive if she-" Edward choked on his words, unable to say the words.

"I know, but you have to try. Would she want you to wither away into nothing or would she want you to live, Edward? She'd want you to keep going. She's that kind of person, selfless and stubborn to a fault. She's a fighter, Edward. Just keep talking to her and I think she'll fight her way back to you just to kick you in the butt for being a mope, going all broody because of her injury. You know she would."

Edward wasn't able to keep the watery chuckle from escaping his lips as he nodded against her warmth. He knew just how stubborn she could be when it came to him. He was hoping she would come to, just to kick him in the butt and he would gladly take each swift kick all because that meant she was still alive to give it to him.

Grueling and never ending days went by but Edward refused to leave Bella's bedside. Carlisle would come in every day to check on Bella's progress, while Esme checked on Edward to make sure he was eating, showering and changing clothes. He mostly wore doctor scrubs now since he wouldn't be away from Bella long enough to change into anything more time consuming and those seemed to be the more comfortable option.

Everyone could see the toll this was taking on Edward and silently begged that Bella would pull through this relatively unharmed, otherwise Edward wouldn't last long.

Edward Senior came a few times to check in on his youngest and the girl who was a perfect match for him. Each time he would leave more and more disheartened. The doctors would tell him the chance of her coming out of it and each time it would get slimmer and slimmer.

They had stopped the coma inducing drugs by the second week. The swelling had reduced some and they felt comfortable enough to wean her off, yet she still hadn't woken up. Each day that went by was another few percentage points off her chance of recovery.

Day by day it looked more and more like Bella wouldn't make it. The prognosis looked grim to say the least, but Edward refused to give up. He would sit with her, holding her hand or curled around her talking to her, taking care of her. He would brush her hair for her, apply Chap Stick to her chapped lips, and Alice even convinced him, and then taught him to braid Bella's hair. Edward did anything to help Bella. It was almost like she was the sun and Edward was a planet, stuck in her gravitational pull; a pull Edward didn't ever want to be free from.

One day Edward was curled up on the small bed, asleep, wrapped around Bella like usual with Edward Senior standing in the doorway watching his youngest and his wife and Carlisle off in the corner chair.

"It was Marcus' men but they took the command straight from the horse's mouth. Marcus gave the direct order to shoot that restaurant up and take as many of us out as possible," Senior spoke softly not taking his eyes off the unconscious couple. "I just don't know how they knew we were at that specific restaurant. We have twenty or so around the city. How did they know to shoot that one? None of the others were hit. Jasper is trying to find who leaked the information to them as we speak while Aro and Emmett are searching for Marcus. There aren't any leads yet."

Nodding, Carlisle glanced over at him before turning his eyes back to the bed. He knew the first two priorities were finding Marcus and finding the leak. Aro and Emmett had killed the shooters in the car a block away from the restaurant the night everything went to hell and quickly disposed of the bodies. The police were still chasing their tails on where the shooters were hiding while the Cullen family were moving onto the bigger fish. They wanted the ring leader rather than the small low-lives carrying out the directives.

"Just get him before the police do and get him before they can hurt our family any more than it already is," Carlisle replied.

"That's what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm going to get going. I just stopped by to see how they were doing," Senior told him as he walked over to the bed and gently laid his hand on Edward's shoulder for a brief moment before he reached up and brushed some hair out of Bella's face, back onto the pillow and leaned down. He whispered in her ear, "you get better kid. I'll be seeing you later," before he kissed her forehead and left to try and aid the search for Marcus. The sooner they found the man, the sooner he could take his revenge on him. _Nobody fucked with his family._

The afternoon was dancing across the bottom of the bed with the shadows the blinds were creating. The circulating air was causing the blinds to swing gently in the draft creating movement of a push and pull between the light and dark. The movement of light hitting Edward's eyelids was waking him gently. He groaned and clung to the body beside him as was routine by now. He nuzzled into her chest further and yawned, trying to get back to sleep when he felt a hand gently scratching his scalp as it ran through his hair. He smiled to himself with remembered thoughts of Bella doing the exact thing to him during the early mornings when they were in their bedroom.

The hand moved from his hair down to the back of his neck before sliding to his shoulders, holding him closer to the body he was clutching. As the fingers gently moved over his upper shoulders and neck, he woke and tilted his head to check on Bella. That was always the first thing he did when he opened his eyes – watching her still sleeping there. This time when he looked up, two tired and confused, brown molten chocolate eyes stared back at him.

He quickly scrambled out of the bed to give her more space and see how she was doing, falling to the floor when he got too close to the edge. He felt the rising anger at himself for not being able to do one thing right when he heard the musical sound of Bella giggling from the bed. He popped his head up so only his eyes and his hair were shown to see if he was hearing things, only causing Bella to giggle even more. _Maybe he could do something right._

He smiled before lifting the rest of his head above the railing and standing up. He sat down next to her on the bed and reached up, brushing some hair out of her face. The moment his skin touched hers, the beeps coming from the heart monitor became erratic and disjointed. He smiled at the effect he had on her. Unbeknownst to her, she had the same effect on him. He ran his thumb over her cheekbones gently, barely touching her, and quietly asked, "Are you really awake? Or am I dreaming again?"

Attempting to respond to him, Bella quickly found it difficult to form words, and she licked her dry lips. "Water, please?" Bella croaked, her throat dry and scratchy.

"Shit, I mean, shoot," Edward said as he scrambled for the nearby tray laden with a water pitcher and a cup of ice chips. He poured one of the small cups of water for her and put a straw in it before holding it up to her, holding the straw steady so she could easily drink.

After a long sip, Bella allowed the straw to fall from her lips as she looked up at Edward's green pools of worry. She smiled a loopy smile and shyly, tiredly whispered, "Hi."

Edward's answering grin was lopsided and wide as he answered, "Hi." He brushed a lock of hair out of Bella's face and tucked it behind her ear as he quietly told her, "You had me really scared. I thought I was going to lose you for good."

Blowing a fat raspberry at him, Bella giggled loudly before she told him, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"What kind of drugs do they have you on, Little Love? You're really loopy right now," Edward wondered aloud as he leaned down and kissed Bella's forehead, allowing his lips to linger on her skin. "I missed seeing your beautiful eyes. For a while people didn't think they'd see them again. Boy, am I happy you're awake. I was going insane not being able to talk to you…"

"How long have I been out?" Bella asked as her eyebrows creased comically. Though she was awake, she was tired and still a little confused. She could remember the restaurant and being thrown to the floor when the gunshots started, but couldn't remember much after that. "What happened?"

He tucked another lock of hair behind her ear before he gently asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um…" Bella thought for a moment as she bit her bottom lip. She looked back up at Edward with wide eyes and whispered, "There was a drive by…at the restaurant…you were helping people…then it gets kind of fuzzy…"

Realizing she didn't remember telling him she loved him, Edward deflated a little. He tried to ignore his disappointment over it when he told her, "Little Love, you were wounded. I didn't get you to the floor in time. You were shot. We rushed you here and you've been unconscious for almost four weeks now…"

"Oh," Bella whispered as she looked back down at the blanket covering her legs. She could tell there was something he was leaving out, but was scared to ask what it was. Good or bad, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what took the wind out of Edward's sails. She didn't want to know if it was something she did or didn't do or someone else.

Sensing the lull and awkwardness in the conversation where before there wouldn't be one, Carlisle stood from the chair where he had been quietly observing and walked over to the bed to speak to Bella. "Bella? Honey? Do you remember who I am?"

At the sudden appearance of another person in the room, Bella flinched before she could stop herself. When she looked back up, she immediately recognized Carlisle and nodded. Bella bit her lower lip again, "Carlisle. Why wouldn't I remember you?"

Carlisle patted Bella's leg as a parent would do with their child and told her, "Well, you hit your head pretty hard when you fell both times, the doctors had to induce a coma until the swelling went down and we weren't sure of the ramifications and side effects of the concussions. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have amnesia. And clearly you don't. I'm going to go get the doctor to come and check in on you. I'll be right back."

The sliding glass door opened and closed after Carlisle leaving Bella and Edward alone and quiet in the room. Edward studied Bella's face intently, trying to read the emotions flittering across her face. He saw confusion and contentment, happiness and anger, and new and ancient pain all in the span of a few seconds before he couldn't take it anymore. He reached up and cupped her cheek, causing her to look back at him. She smiled before a wide yawn erupted.

Edward chuckled and told Bella, "Why don't you take a nap? You must be exhausted. I'll wake you up later. Just close your eyes and relax. I'll keep you safe. Don't worry about anything."

Curling up on the bed close to Edward, Bella closed her eyes as she yawned again. "Lay with me, please?"

"Are you sure? The bed isn't all that big." Edward inquired. "I don't want to squish you. Someone might fall off."

"I like you squishing me. And I'll take the chance of falling off the bed. I like snuggling with you."

Edward couldn't stop the goofy grin from spreading ear to ear. That was something he really liked hearing from his girl. "You know, I'm actually not supposed to be in the bed with you. The nurses get pissy when they catch me. But I'm not willing to let them throw me out, besides, a quick wink and a smile and they're putty in my hands. Carlisle has pull here and kind of threw his weight around so I could stay here 24/7 and sleep in the bed with you. I overheard him telling the doctor that it would help with your recovery. I'm not in their god graces right now, but frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Giggling, Bella reached over to pat the spot on the bed next to her. "Just get in the bed and hold me close."

Not willing to wait another second, Edward laid down on the bed next to his Bella and pulled her in close to him. He got them both situated before she sighed in contentment and relaxed against his warm body. He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead again, lingering for a brief moment before whispering, "I love you, Little Love."

"I love you too, Edward," Bella mumbled against his chest as she finally slipped into a non-medically induced slumber.

Holding her close, he buried his nose in her hair, took a deep breath and closed his eyes all while the smile on his lips lingered, larger than any other he had in his lifetime. _How could anything top this?_ She just told him she loved him and she wasn't in death's clutches. She was warm, safe and sound in his arms and she just told him she loved him. Edward was just dandy.

Walking back in, talking with the doctor, Carlisle glanced over at the bed and saw Bella and Edward passed out and curled into one another. Edward had the usual death grip on Bella, but this time, Bella was turned into him and clutching onto his shirt. Carlisle smiled and turned to the doctor. "I guess she was tired."

Hours later, Bella opened her eyes to the bright, fluorescent hospital lights and groaned. Edward pulled her closer into his chest as he turned his head slightly and mumbled incoherently into the inside of her breast. Bella smiled at the action and blinked a time or two to try and gather her surroundings as she ran her fingers through Edward's hair to relax his tense body.

This was the first time in four weeks Edward was able to finally relax and get some real, much needed sleep without having to worry about what may or may not happen to Bella while he was unconscious. Before, it seemed like he always had to sleep with one eye open, but now, with the knowledge she had woken up, he was peaceful, catching up on the sleep he had been missing out on for so long.

When her eyes caught the door of the room, she immediately spotted James standing guard. She waved him in and with a smile asked, "What are you doing here, James? I'm sure Edward will be awake soon if you need to talk to him."

Shaking his head grimly, James replied, "No, Baby Bell, I don't need to speak with him. Senior has me keeping guard over the room. He doesn't want anyone sneaking in. Don't worry about a thing, I've got it under control."

"Wait," Bella replied, clearly confused, "But I thought you would be out looking for the shooters or something. Aren't you really good with that sort of thing? One of the best?"

James' lips cocked up into a small grin before he answered her questions, "I am one of the best. Besides the Cullens, I am the best in the organization when it comes to tracking someone. But, Senior thought it would be best if I were to make sure nothing happened to you. I tend to agree with him."

"Why?" Bella asked, bewilderment written all over her face.

"You really don't know how special you are, do you?" James asked as he shook his head. "You've left your mark on all of us. The gruff and grizzly men in the organization have smiled more since meeting you than the rest of the time I have known them. That's saying something. You have a good, innocent, sunshine aspect about you that brightens people's lives. Once they meet you, they're better for it. You remind me of my Vicki before she died."

Biting her bottom lip, Bella cautiously and quietly asked, "Will you tell me about her? Please?" Bella could tell the moment James started thinking of his wife. He got a faraway look in his eyes before they started to twinkle brightly.

"She had the reddest hair I've ever seen and freckles all over her nose and cheek bones. She had the Irish look about her. But what I noticed first was her smile. It always brightened up the darkest of days. Her personality and attitude were stellar too. She was always so happy and carefree. She kept me on my toes with what she would say and do next. She was so beautiful inside and out." James' lips quirked up into a genuine smile as he told Bella all about the love of his life.

"I found myself wanting to change my bachelor status and we were engaged six months after we met, and married six months after that. Our families thought we were crazy, a quick wedding to cover up a bun in the oven or something. But none of that was true, we just fell in love and didn't want to waste another day without the other by our sides. She was a hairdresser and I was an Outdoor Survivalist teacher. We got by. We were by no means rich, but the money didn't matter to us. We had each other.

"For our four year anniversary, I bought tickets to the opera, Cats, and we got all decked out in our Sunday bests. On our way back to the car from the opera house, two men robbed us at gun point. Vicki gave them her purse but she wasn't fast enough with her necklace and bracelet and they shot her. They shot me, took my wallet and left us for dead. Someone found us the next morning. I was hypothermic and had severe blood loss, but Vicki didn't make it. They had shot her in the heart. She was dead before she hit the ground. I found out it was two of Marcus' men and I joined the Cullens six months after her death to get revenge on the two men that gunned her down for no reason.

"You remind me so much of her - your personality, your good outlook on people and life in general. My Vicki would have loved you," James explained.

"I'm sorry. About your wife…" Bella choked out with tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "She sounds like a wonderful woman."

James nodded. "She was. Which is why I agreed wholeheartedly to guard your door while you're here in the hospital. I don't want to see what happen to my Vicki, happen to you. She didn't deserve it, she never hurt another soul in her life and I can see that in you as well," James told her earnestly as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Thank you," Bella whispered back honestly. "For everything."

"The best thing you can do to repay me, is to get better. You two deserve a chance at happiness," James bargained with Bella. "It seems like you two have been getting the shit end of the stick each time around the bend."

Bella smiled and answered back, "I will as long as you promise to smile a bit more... at least around me. You don't look as grizzly and surly when you smile."

"Deal," James replied as he smirked slightly at her. "I'm going to leave you to get back to sleep. You can rest easy. Nobody will harm you here. Especially when I'm just outside the door and Edward's wrapped around you that tightly."

"Thank you," Bella told him as she hunkered down on the bed in Edward's arms again. "You're a good man, James Cross." Bella's eyes closed slowly as she slipped off to sleep again.

"That all depends on who you talk to, Baby Bell. Nobody in this business is a good person. But then again, I'm trying my best," James quietly whispered as he stepped out of the room to stand guard over the woman who reminded him so much of his late wife. He was willing to do everything in his power, give his last breath for the frail woman in the next room, so she could have a chance to live her life like his Vicki never had. If he joined Vicki in the afterlife as a result of ensuring Bella had a chance to live and be happy with Edward, it would be worth it.

**A/N: Thank my wonderful beta TwiSNFan for fixing my many, many mistakes, making it legible and readable. She completes me. None of this would be possible if it weren't for her. Send her some love.**

**Leave a review if possible and let me know how I'm doing. None of it was written before hand so I'm muddling through it as I go. Who knows, with your permission, I may use some of the suggestions you leave in a review later on during the story. I thank everyone who has reviewed. Please keep in mind, constructive criticism is most welcomed, even encouraged, but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one and nobody learns from anything. Thank you!**

**Thank you for those who sent me their well wishes and congratulations. And thank you to those who have stuck by me through all of this. I appreciate the encouragement and the support of all of you has given me by standing with me.**

**I'll see you soon!**

**Jo**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I do not own Twilight. I am not SM, nor will I ever be, phooey, I know, but 'tis life.**

**IMPORTANT! For those who inquired, I do have an account over at TWCS. I am under the handle of Joce_Cullen, and I have posted MB over there just in case anything happens to MB on , like the purging. So, if this story just vanishes one day, it will be over there as well so hop on over and check it out. I am technologically unsavy so, bear with me if you go over to TWCS, it's a new layout to me and I still need to fart around on it and see what all it can do.**

**On with the very belated chapter-**

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><p>"How's your arm?" Bella asked as she moved the scrub sleeve away from the bandage on his shoulder. "You haven't said anything about it since I woke up."<p>

It had been three days since Bella woke in the ICU and had since been moved up to a regular, yet private room. Since then, she had been bombarded by most of the family with gifts, flowers, stuffed animals, balloons and well wishes. Most of the family had visited a few times in the past three days, with Edward an ever present fixture in Bella's room.

Though she had been far more pleasant towards Bella since receiving such thoughtful Christmas gifts, Elizabeth had been absent lately, staying away from the hospital. Aro and Sculpicia were missing in action as well. Aro was too absorbed in the efforts to find out who gave the order to attack the Cullens' restaurant and Sculpicia simply didn't like Bella and made it quite apparent, with snide comments and sneers whenever Bella was brought up in conversation at the house.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. It's on the mend. How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm exhausted," Bella told him as she stretched like a napping cat, careful to mind her wound and stitches, and yawned before curling up into Edward's side again.

Petting her hair, Edward leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Go to sleep. You'll be fine. I've got you."

"Mmhmm," Bella hummed, but she was already asleep.

Edward sat there in the hospital room with Bella in his arms and the television on, though muted. He was content just to have her alive and breathing and in his arms. It didn't matter that he didn't have much to do other than hold her. It was more than enough.

A few hours later, Senior popped his head in with a weary smile on his face. He was hoping Bella would be awake so he could speak with her for a minute or two. He had become very fond of her sense of humor and needed a dose of humor in his life at that moment. His smile fell slightly when he realized she had already fallen asleep again. "Hey Son, I was hoping to catch her while she was awake."

Startled, Edward jumped but caught himself from waking Bella. He looked over at his father and shrugged the shoulder that was opposite Bella and whispered, "She sleeps a lot and often, just passes out. She's been tired, but Carlisle said that's her body's way of recuperating."

Senior nodded, "It'll take a while for her to be back to proper health, but don't rush her. That can cause all sorts of complications in the long run."

"I'll give her all the time she needs," Edward vowed. He looked down at the sleeping beauty in his arms and kissed her forehead before glancing back up at his father. "Did you come here to talk with her or is there something I can help you with?"

The chuckle that escaped Senior's chest was almost maniacal and the smile that followed was rueful. He shook his head and revealed to his son, "Elazear called me this morning. I almost didn't answer it. I didn't want to deal with his crap as well as everything that was happening to this family, but I did. Do you want to take a stab at what he was calling for?"

"I have a feeling I don't want to know. Do I?" Edward asked skeptically.

"Definitely not," Senior said. "He called to demand I reimburse Tanya and him for the money they've paid for the wedding. He argued that since you broke it off, you should be the one paying for everything because you not only left her at the altar, broke her heart and destroyed her outlook on love, but you were the reason the entire thing was called off."

Edward couldn't help the astonished laugh that bubbled from his chest. It was loud and disbelieving. He shook his head before he asked, "And how much does he want me to reimburse him?"

Senior's smile widened immensely. "Ten million."

Choking on air and spit, Edward hacked as he pounded on his chest to get himself to stop. _Ten million dollars? How could she have gone through all that money in that short amount of time? What the hell did she spend it on? It couldn't have been the Pepto Bismol Barbie stuff could it? All that was ghastly!_ "Holy shit! What the hell did she buy? A small country."

"Didn't you know that's where you'd be honeymooning?" Senior snarked.

With that one sentence, Edward realized just how much Bella had been rubbing off on his family. Before she showed up, his father never would have joked with him like that. He had always been the stoic, no-emotions, never-speaking-more-than-necessary kind of guy. Now, after Bella's appearance in their lives, he was joking, laughing and talking away.

"Oh no, she wanted to go to Paris or some other clichéd place like that." Edward rolled his eyes at the thought of spending his honeymoon in the city of love with a woman he couldn't stand being within a hundred yards of. How ironic would that have been? "Speaking of which," Edward continued on a more serious note as he looked down at his wife's peaceful face, "when the time comes to take our honeymoon, do you think Bella and I could borrow the island?"

"Absolutely. Just tell me when and I'll make the arrangements. Take as long as you need. You and Bella have been through so much in the past couple of months, so whenever you're ready to relax and decompress, just say the word."

"Thanks. We appreciate it." Edward rested his cheek on the top of Bella's head and closed his eyes briefly as he continued to brush her hair out of her face. Even though it hadn't been washed lately, her hair was still soft and smooth and he loved playing with it in any capacity. It meant she was close enough to touch and was safe in his arms.

"Any time," Senior replied, watching his son interact with Bella. He was gentle and caring, almost as if she was a fragile piece of glass that he couldn't stop touching, yet at the same time, was so careful while holding it as if it would break at any moment. He was happy to see the love in Edward's eyes, a love he had never seen there before, one that he thought he would never see.

"Did he by any chance tell you what the ten million was supposed to be for? I know I asked it before, but really, how could she spend that amount of money on a wedding? Not even a full wedding?" Edward asked, still shocked at the excessive amount of money.

"Well, apparently Tanya bought over two million in wine, one million for the dress, another million for the cake and the custom topper, one and a half million for the invites, menus, and thank you cards and the rest is for the miscellaneous items she apparently either already bought or reserved, but it's nonrefundable. Personally, I think Eleazer inflated the supposed costs and was asking for money for pain and suffering for her, too."

Edward rolled his eyes for the second time in ten minutes as he replied, "I hope you told him to shove it."

"Where the sun don't shine," Senior laughed.

"Good."

After staying just a few minutes longer, Senior decided to return to his office. He brushed Bella's hair off her face, leaned in and kissed her forehead and promised that he would be by later to see if Bella was awake. Edward bid him a good day and he was off to make money, legally or not.

A few hours later, Bella had woken up, but was still in Edward's arms. She didn't want to let him go, but when her thirst decided it could wait no longer, Edward jumped up to get some ice for her to chew on.

Edward picked up one of the pitchers on the tray and held it for Bella to see. "I'm going to go get some more ice chips for you. I'll be back in a few minutes, Little Love."

"Sounds good. I'll be here when you get back," Bella replied sarcastically as she playfully rolled her eyes at him.

Kissing Bella's forehead, Edward said, "Snarky today. I like it."

"I like you," she told him as she looked up at him.

Edward smiled brightly as he leaned down and kissed both her cheeks, then her nose, then her eyelids and then finally, gently pressed his lips to Bella's, touching as softly as a butterfly's wings. He stayed there with his lips skimming against hers as he opened his eyes. Bella was looking back at him with wide, shocked and nervous eyes.

Reaching up to softly cup Bella's cheeks, Edward ran his thumb under her eyes and along her freckled cheekbones, memorizing every little freckle on her skin while he tried to soothe her. The heart monitor was beeping like crazy as he felt her lips slowly curve up into a small smile and she reached up and mimicked his position – her hands on his own cheeks, causing Edward to smile against her lips as well.

The heart monitor's frantic beeping alerted one of the older, more experienced nurses at the station down the hall and she hurried into the room thinking something was seriously wrong with one of her patients. However, upon entering the room, she saw the two locked in an intimate kiss, and she smiled at the innocence of it. The position of their hands and bodies to one another, their lips smiling and touching and the fact that they held onto one another's cheeks while their foreheads rested against one another and they held each other's gaze made the nurse uncomfortable watching the exchange. In all her fifty-six years, she had never seen the intimacy the two of them were sharing.

"Mr. Cullen!" The nurse scolded halfheartedly.

Jumping away at the unexpected interruption, both Edward and Bella looked over at the third person in the room quite sheepishly, each of their cheeks heating adorably. Edward hadn't blushed since he was four, but Bella thought it was endearing that he was currently blushing.

Nurse Shelly put her hands on her hips and, not quite able to get the smile off her face, scolded, "You, mister, should know better than to get a girl's heart pumping that much while she's in the hospital. Do I need to throw some cold water on the two of you? Or are you going to go take a short walk, Mr. Cullen?"

"All right. All right. All right. I'm going," Edward relented with a chuckle. He grabbed the pitcher again and looked back at Bella with a giant smile on his lips as he told her, "I'll be right back with your ice. Don't run away."

Raising one eyebrow in challenge, Bella asked, "First, you expect me to run? And second, you expect me to run _away_? If anything, I'd be running after you, you smart ass."

"Smart ass?" Edward asked putting his hand over his chest dramatically. "You wound me, woman. I would at least expect to be cute ass. Gorgeous ass? What about sexy ass? I'll settle for firm? Toned? Sculpted? What about perfect?"

"Go get me ice!" Bella laughed, pointing to the door.

"Fine. I'm going, but we're going to talk about my ass when I get back. I want to know just what you think about it."

Bella groaned and shook her head as Edward smiled cheekily at her and the nurse and walked out of the room. Before she left, Nurse Shelly scolded Bella about getting too excited with her man and made sure she was all tucked into the bed and had everything that was needed.

Turning over carefully, Bella got comfortable to get some rest and wait for Edward to return with the ice. The television was on, though still muted and the somewhat muffled noises from the hall would occasionally drift in and soothe Bella's nerves.

There was a small creak from the doorway that indicated someone was there and, expecting Edward back with the ice, Bella looked over to the doorway with a bright smile that quickly slid from her face when she realized who it was looking back at her.

Detective Black was the last person she was expecting and the very last person she wanted to see standing there. He was dressed in a cheap looking, ill-fitting black suit with a blood red button down dress shirt. A pen was resting behind his left ear, a small notebook was in his right hand and the disgusting, leering, victorious smirk on his face told Bella that his visit was not going to be a pleasant one.

Stepping into the room, uninvited yet acting like he owned the place, Detective Black swaggered over to the side of the bed. "Well, well, well, Isabella Swan. What a coincidence." The smug smirk on Detective Black's face grew with each step closer. "Your name is on my list of victims to interview after the shooting incident. I've done my homework, read the victim's reports and run a background check on you, but no photos were included, so imagine my surprise when, after searching for your identity for months, I walk into this hospital room and here you are. Perhaps this is just a stroke of good luck. Or is it fate?"

"What do you want Detective? I'm in pain right now and in no mood to deal with the likes of you. Please leave," Bella bit out harshly at the smug detective. "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

Clicking his tongue, Detective Black moved closer to Bella's side as he asked, "Is that any way to speak to a police officer? You know I could arrest you right now."

Bella raised a challenging brow and asked, "What would the charges be? I haven't done anything wrong. It would just be kicked out of court. Do us both a favor and leave," Bella sighed. She didn't want to have to deal with his nonsense anymore. She just wanted to have Edward back to make this man go away before they snuggled up and fell asleep holding one another. All Bella wanted was to be happy. _Was being happy too much to ask of anyone?_

Retrieving the pencil from behind his ear, Detective Black pulled up a nearby chair and sat down before flipping the small notebook in his hands open. He looked over at the woman in the bed and asked, "How long have you known the Cullens?"

Eyeing the detective, Bella replied, "A while."

Finally getting an actual response to a direct question, Black smiled and wrote something down in the notebook. "And how long is a while?"

"A while is a while. That's all you're getting from me on the question." Bella glanced over at the television screen so she wouldn't have to look at the detective's expressions. He was pushy and irritating her and it was getting old. She had no patience to deal with him while in the hospital.

Black's brows furrowed as he tried to stare some cooperation into the side of Bella's head. "How do you know the Cullens?"

When Bella huffed in frustration, Black rolled his eyes at the attitude. He knew women like this and he knew he had to press her buttons to get her to say something she didn't mean to, but to get her frazzled beyond all recognition he needed to do it surreptitiously so she wouldn't know what he was doing.

Giving him just a bit of information to hopefully make him go away, Bella told him, "My guardians were making arrangements to have the Cullens help me come out here and marry me off. I've been hearing the Cullens' names for years. Now, please, I'm tired and need to get some sleep."

"What would your father say if he were still alive, Isabella?" Detective Black tried to lay the guilt trip. "He would be so disappointed if he could see you now. Would have been happy, knowing you're with them, doing what you're doing? Protecting the murders? What would he tell you if he was alive today and you weren't cooperating with me?"

All Bella could do was stare at the deceitful man. The minute he opened his mouth and brought up her father, she knew exactly what he was doing and she wouldn't let him get to her. "Mister Black-" Bella started but was interrupted quickly.

"It's Detective Black," he ground out.

Smiling sarcastically at him, Bella replied, "Well, Detective Black, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, it's Miss Swan to you. And I don't have to think about what my father would think or say about my involvement with the Cullens. I know exactly what he would say if my father were still alive. My father always told me to do what was right and that's what I am doing right now. You are a corrupt man, a corrupt cop and I want nothing to do with you. You are not welcome here. Please leave before I call security."

"Listen Isabella, you're going to tell me exactly what I need to know otherwise I'll arrest you for obstruction of justice," Black threatened in a low, menacing voice.

Leaning closer to Black, Bella gritted out, "Kiss my pasty white, pale ass. You're not getting anything else from me about the Cullens. As for the shooting a couple weeks ago, I don't remember much beyond the excruciating pain. You'll get more information from the others. I'm not sorry I couldn't be any more of a help."

Black's stare bore into her, silently demanding she tell him everything he wanted to know, with his eyes. "Tell me what you know about the illegal dealings the Cullens are into. And don't you dare lie to me. I know they've told you something. They're keeping an awfully close leash on you for someone who doesn't know anything. What secrets did you stumble upon to have them keep you so close? I can assure you that if it weren't for those secrets, you would most likely be tossed aside like yesterday's trash. My guess is they're trying to find a way to dispose of you as we speak. They won't keep you around for much longer. Tell me what they've done and I'll make sure you're safe and out of the house. You can testify against them and you'll be placed in witness protection anywhere you want to go. Tell me what you know about them."

Yawning, Bella hit the nurse's alert button on the side of her bed and turned carefully onto her back again. She could only stay in one position for so long before she started aching. She felt like she was constantly having to move, yet when Edward was there with her, it didn't seem like a chore.

"Have a good day, Detective," Bella quipped as Nurse Shelly came walking in. "Shelly, can you please have this man leave? He's determined to annoy me today and I don't think I'm up for it."

"Sir," Shelly tried as she walked over to Black's side, "You're going to have to leave-"

"I'm a detective for the Chicago Police Department. I'm here taking Miss Swan's statement of what happened to her when she was shot," Detective Black responded, pulling out his badge to show the nurse as if it gave him a free pass to do anything, say anything, or go anywhere he pleased.

Huffing in frustration that caused her stomach to throb, Bella repeated to him, "I don't remember anything, Detective Black. I was heading towards the bathroom at the restaurant when the shooting started. I was lucky enough to get to the floor just in time. When I stood up again, I realized I had been shot and then I passed out. I don't remember anything other than that. I woke up in the ICU three days ago. Now that you have your statement, I would like to be left alone. You're giving me a headache."

With her hands on her hips, Nurse Shelly arched an eyebrow and prompted, "I believe you have what you've come for. I think you should go now. Don't make me call security. This is bordering on harassment."

Detective Black stood from the chair, towering over the small nurse. He was breathing down at her and to anyone else it would have been intimidating; but not to Shelly. She had seen so many of his kind try that before. She pointed towards the door to indicate he should leave but it didn't have any effect on Black.

"I have every right to be here. I'm taking her statement. I am a Detective. I can come and go as I please. I can arrest you for obstructing a police investigation." Black squared his shoulders as if he was getting ready for a fight and continued his ranting. "You have no right to kick me out of the room of my witness and victim. I need her statement so I can arrest the Cullens!"

Bella laughed just as Edward, Esme and Carlisle walked into the room. Edward looked furious at the sight of Jacob Black in the room with his Bella. Carlisle and Esme were just stunned at the scene.

However, even though Detective Black was trying to intimidate her, Nurse Shelly refused to back down. She could fight her own battles; she had been in the hospital ward for years. "Detective Black, if you don't keep your voice down I will have you barred from the hospital permanently. For now, I do have a problem with you taking Miss Swan's statement when you agitate my patients. I will need you to leave. You are quite clearly upsetting Bella at the moment, so I will ask you again, please leave. You can come back at a different time."

Growling, Black glanced around the room noticing, for the first time, the Cullens in the doorway. He snarled at Edward before turning towards Bella in the bed and pulling out his set of handcuffs. "You leave me no choice, Isabella. You brought this on yourself.

"Isabella Swan, you're under arrest for obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" He handcuffed Bella's left wrist to the railing of the hospital bed as he recited the usual speech.

Nurse Shelly threw her hands up in the air in frustration at the whole situation and growled as she left the room. There was no talking to any of the people in the room. Clearly neither of these men were going to concede; both stubborn enough to believe things would be done -their way. Bella was easy going and a great patient as far as Nurse Shelly was concerned. She easily rolled with the punches, went with the flow of things and let Edward bear the brunt of any agitation. Nurse Shelly was glad Bella didn't let much stress her, because she needed to heal. Edward was taking care of her as any partner should when the other was in need.

Shelly was not about to leave her patients high and dry because they were being hassled by the police or anyone else. She would be back shortly, with reinforcements, to prevent the impending fight, and to get the insufferable, stubborn detective out of the hospital. If her patient was in trouble and someone in the room was causing it, she would make sure they left. Detective Black was that man.

"I understand completely," Bella sighed in resignation as she lifted up her hand to see the handcuff. The cool metal stung against her skin as she tested the durability of it. When she looked back up, she looked to Esme and asked, "Can you call that lawyer? I think I'll need his services."

Still shocked, Esme could only nod and step out of the room, extracting her cell from her bag to call Mr. Banks. Everyone in the family had the number of Mr. Banks. Esme was glad she made sure to enter it into her phone, not expecting to ever need it. How was she to know a sadistic cop would be after her family members at any and all costs?

Dialing a number, Black held his own phone up to his ear to report to the district attorney, informing him of the statement he had gotten by means of a witness and someone to testify against the Cullens.

Edward moved over to the opposite side of the bed from Black, placing the bucket of ice on the nearby tray and scooped a large cupful before he handed it to Bella and sat down in the second visitor's chair. He reached up and threaded his fingers through Bella's as she held the cup and asked, "Is he bothering you?"

Nodding, Bella carefully turned over to face Edward, closed her eyes and relaxed into the uncomfortable bed, with her cup of ice. She would occasionally slip more ice between her somewhat chapped lips. Her eyes never opened as she chomped noisily on the cool chips. Her legs twitched with the restrained energy of trying to kick the flimsy, threadbare off-white hospital blanket to cover her feet up again. Her toes were cold and were staring to bother her.

"Can I get you anything?" Edward asked her quietly.

"Do not talk to my prisoner," Black growled at Edward, disregarding the phone at his ear. He finally spoke quietly and then snapped the phone closed before looking at Edward and slipping it into his back pocket. "You have no right to speak to her. She's under arrest. Now, would all of you please step outside so I may interrogate her?"

Glaring over at Black, Edward didn't bother to move from his spot. "You can try to interrogate her all you want, Black, but I'm not leaving her in here alone with you. I know the dirty games you play and I won't put her health in jeopardy because you aren't getting the answers you want. I wouldn't put it past you to monkey fuck with the machines to get her to tell you what you want to hear. So, if you have questions that you absolutely need to ask her, ask, but I'm staying right here."

"He can't ask me any questions, Edward. I asked for my lawyer. Without my lawyer present, he can't talk to me. So he might as well just leave until my lawyer gets here," Bella reasoned. _How could a police officer disregard the laws as much as this one?_

Black turned his beady eyes on Bella and practically roared, "I'm not about to just leave you in here with the likes of him! Knowing him, he'll threaten you into saying what he wants you to say or worse. I'm in here for your protection. Besides, I don't want to give you two the chance to get your stories straight. No, I'm staying right here so I'll be able to hear your conversations. Don't think you'll be pulling another one over on me, Cullen. Your ass is mine."

The giggle that bubbled up from Bella's chest couldn't be helped. He smiled as she looked over at Edward and reminded him, "I think it's still smart, but I'm willing to concede it's toned."

Edward snickered at her, remembering the conversation he had just before he left to get the ice. "Oh, speaking of which, sorry it took me so long to get the ice; the machine just down the hall wasn't working. I had to go to the one way across the floor."

Crunching on some of the ice chips, Bella nodded and swirled them around in her small white Styrofoam cup. "That's okay. I knew you had a legitimate reason for leaving me that long. I'm starting to realize you worry lots when I'm alone for too long," Bella replied sleepily as she put the near empty cup down on her bed tray. "Could you maybe cover my feet up? They're getting a little cold."

"No problem," Edward murmured to her as he got up and covered her feet as she had asked. He returned to the head of the bed and grabbed her hand again as he sat down. "Do you want more ice?"

Bella shook her head slightly and mumbled, "Not right now, thank you. That hit the spot. Thank you for getting it for me."

"Any time," Edward leaned in and whispered to her.

Walking up to Edward, Carlisle quietly asked, "Where was the guard at the door? They would have known not to let him in here."

Edward shook his head as he ran his thumb over Bella's knuckles. He watched as Bella slowly fell asleep, trusting him to protect her. He had proven himself to her over time, and she had begun to slowly trust him, both emotionally and physically. He had always been there for her anytime she needed him in any capacity. He was attentive of her needs and always seemed to know what she wanted and he seemed to notice small things that nobody had ever noticed before. Loving her unconditionally, scars and all and always being there to save her from getting hurt in one way or another, helped too.

When Esme came rushing back in, she told Carlisle, Edward and inadvertently Black that the lawyer was on his way. He needed to finish up signing some paperwork, but he would do it in the car on the way there.

The hour that followed was tense for everyone in the room. Edward alternated between glaring across Bella's body at Black and smiling as he watched Bella sleep. She tossed and turned as if she could also feel the tension in the room even though she was unconscious. Edward ran his thumbs over her knuckles and brushed her hair off her face and onto the pillow below to calm her.

As Bella slept, Peter arrived wearing a black suit with a white button up dress shirt and a royal purple polka dot tie, carrying a briefcase in his hand, and he immediately noticed Detective Black standing guard over his prisoner. He spotted Esme and Carlisle standing to the side, whispering heatedly to one another and then Edward next to the bed in quiet vigil. He was holding her hand close to his lips with his head bowed. Peter cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"Nice to see you again, Edward, Carlisle, Esme. How is Bella doing?"

Shrugging, Edward stood and shook the lawyer's hand briefly. "She's getting there. She's out of the woods, but they want to keep her a while longer for observations and see if there were any side effects of the bleeding. So far they haven't seen anything that's a red flag."

"That's excellent," Peter exclaimed as he shook Carlisle's hand and hugged Esme quickly while he listened to Edward telling him about his client. "I'm going to need everybody to leave so I can speak with my client alone-"

"I'm not leaving," Black vowed with his arms defiantly crossed over his chest.

Peter glanced over at the detective and stared him down as he explained, "I am legal counsel for this woman. I am her lawyer. I need to speak with my client and we have the right not to speak in front of you. Now, I will ask you to leave the room otherwise I will call security and have you escorted off the premises. Now, please leave the room so I may talk with her-"

"She's not even awake," Black argued. He was going to try everything to prevent the lawyer from speaking with her. He knew he would lose her if that happened and didn't want to take the chance. "I'm not letting her out of my sight because you'll try and corrupt her. I won't tolerate it."

"You will tolerate it," Peter reasoned, "because it's the law. Now, please leave."

Perturbed, Black argued, "She's not awake!"

"Yes she is," Bella groaned from the bed, not bothering to open her eyes. "What is it with guys and being louder than the next? Tone it down, everybody, please."

Edward helped Bella sit up in the bed before he followed Black out of the room, leaving Bella and Peter in the room to speak alone. He watched as Black stormed down the hall and into the doctor's lounge with a scowl on his face. Rolling his eyes, Edward noticed Esme, Carlisle and his father standing off to the side talking in hushed voices.

"Where was the guard for the door?" Senior asked sternly, looking at Carlisle. "I specifically ordered one to be posted outside her door at all times so no one would get to her and now I walk in here and find out Black not only just waltzed in there, but was alone with her for a period of time, able to do God knows what. That's completely unacceptable! What if he had hurt her? You and I both know that he would have tried anything if it meant getting information on this family, legally obtained or not. I do not want him that close to her again."

Shrugging while he nodded, Carlisle replied back, "I know what he's like just the same as you, but I'm not sure who was on duty or where they went, I've been trying to figure that out myself."

Sneering at the incompetency of his men, Senior demanded, "Who was the idiot on duty?"

"I believe that would be Mike," Edward told his father as he joined his family. "James had been on duty all of Monday and some of Tuesday. Tyler was next for twelve hours, and switched out with the current one. I haven't been out of the room in a while so I can't really be sure. I was too worried about Bella." Looking back at Bella sitting up in the bed, Edward continued, "find Mike and figure out why he left his post. I want to know what was so important that he would leave his job in the middle of it.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were at work…" Edward observed. That's where Senior said he would be going when he left the room earlier. What was he doing back so soon?

Senior nodded. "I was, but then I got a call from Esme, telling me Black was here, Bella was under arrest and Peter was on his way. What were the charges he arrested her on?"

"Obstruction and accessory after the fact," Edward explained. "He was trying to force her hand. He wanted information on us and knew he wouldn't get it unless he had leverage so he created some. He can't prove either charge though. He just wanted to scare Bella into telling him everything, which won't happen."

Peter and Bella's talk lasted about an hour, causing Detective Black to become restless and agitated as he waited in the hallway with a stolen cup of coffee from the doctor's lounge. He wanted to get back into the room before the lawyer managed to persuade Bella not to give him the information he needed and wanted. He paced the hallway for a time, before leaning against the wall, restless and desperate to get in there.

The three Cullens - Carlisle, Esme and Edward Senior - stood off to the side, speaking in hushed tones, waiting for the security footage of Bella's doorway and information on where the guard wondered off to, while the patients, doctors and nurses passed them to get where they needed to be. Edward couldn't hear his family's conversation, having moved further down the hall closer to the doorway to Bella's room.

Edward watched the detective closely, cataloging each movement. He didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him. The man was sneaky and slimy and Edward didn't want him near his Bella. She had been hurt so much in her life and if at all possible, Edward was going to make sure she wasn't hurt anymore. If that meant keeping Detective Jacob Black away from Bella, he would do so, by whatever means necessary.

When they were allowed back into the individual hospital room, Edward was first in the door with Detective Black hot on his heels, hoping to be able to persuade Bella not to listen to her lawyer and the other Cullens. He wasn't successful in getting to her quickly enough because when Edward got to her, he immediately pulled her into his arms, resting her head on his chest while he whispered quietly in her ear.

All the talking and arguing had really taken a toll on Bella and as Edward held her, she felt her eyes slowly closing to take another nap. With the medications in her system, the healing her body was trying to do and the aggressive attitude from Detective Black as he tried to assert his authority. Bella's psyche was worn out. She needed to relax and recover - but the latest development was making it hard to do so. As she snuggled into Edward's chest, she decided she would just let him and his family take care of everything for the time being. They knew what they were doing and she trusted Edward to take care of the situation while she slept.

"Now that I have spoken to my client, I would like you to leave, Detective. You have no basis for these accusations and I will ask you to think about what you're doing when you accuse Miss Swan, who was one of the victims of the drive by. The District Attorney will never prosecute because she hasn't done anything wrong. Anyone, doctor or not, will tell you that most victims don't remember everything that happened during the commission of the crime."

"I don't believe that for a second. She knows what I need to know. She won't answer my questions and I know she knows. She needs to tell me and she's going to tell me or she's going to prison," Black told the room. He wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"I believe she told you, Detective Black, she doesn't remember much and all she _does_ remember, she already told you. Why do you insist on believing otherwise?" Peter asked the angry detective. "I believe this is harassment. You should leave my client alone before I inform your superiors of your actions. Rest assured, I _will_ be informing them."

"Isn't this a conflict of interest, Counsel? You're defending all the Cullens and their playthings?" Black asked looking from Mr. Banks to Bella. "Or is it trying to cover their asses? You wouldn't be so scared if she didn't know something. Isabella knows something that can hurt all of you. That's why you're so protective of her. Isn't it? What are you scared of? Me, flipping her? Don't worry, that's exactly what's going to happen."

"Watch your mouth Black. You have no idea what you're talking about," snarled Edward. Even with the knowledge Bella wouldn't betray the family, let alone him, he didn't like the smug look on Black's face or the arrogant tone he took. Bella wasn't some slut that could be flipped with promises of money, 15 minutes of fame or ill intentioned promises of making the world better if she just turned her back on the Cullens. She wasn't like that.

Not one to lay down and roll over at the first sign of a fight, Black taunted, "Are you worried she just might find out that after you get everything you want and need out of her, you'll throw her away like yesterday's garbage? Or even kill her and throw her to the fishes? That's what you'll always do. Does she know what you did with the other girls you slept with?"

As Edward opened his mouth to argue back, a tall, young looking man in a pressed, fancy looking charcoal grey suit with a briefcase in one hand walked into the room. He looked around the room and spotted Black. He walked over, shook his hand and laid the briefcase on the bed, hitting Bella's leg hard enough for a bruise to begin forming.

Edward growled at the man. Senior laid his hand on his son's shoulder to keep him from leaping over the bed and killing the two men that were so close to his Bella. He didn't trust them so close to her. He knew they would try something if given the chance.

"Is this her, Black?" the man asked as he assessed the sleeping woman. He didn't wait for the detective to answer before he unlocked his briefcase and pulled a thick packet of paperwork out along with a pad of legal paper and a pen.

Glancing over at the four Cullens and the lawyer in the room, Black responded, "Yes. This is her. Before we start with the paperwork though, you might want to get them out of here. She won't say anything otherwise."

The yet unnamed man glanced over at the other people in the room. "I need you all to vacate the room at this time. You will be able to come back in when we're finished."

"Over my dead body," Edward sneered at the men. "I'm not leaving her alone with the likes of you two. You'd both probably kill her."

Surprise colored the face of the man. He was speechless for a brief moment before he recovered his wits and asked, "And who might you be?"

"Edward Cullen. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm District Attorney Simon Alistair." He revealed, still stunned at the tone Edward had taken with him. "Black told me Miss Isabella, here, would be making a statement against your family today, in-lieu of prison time herself. Now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way, would you all mind vacating the room for the time being?"

Scoffing at the audacity of the man, Edward clenched his teeth and gritted out, "Would I mind? Would I mind? Fuck that. I'm not leaving her side while you two are here."

Mr. Alistair turned to Black, ignoring the ranting of Edward and asked, "Would you please wake her up? I have an appointment in an hour and I have a schedule to keep. Let's get this dealt with."

Black shook Bella's shoulder roughly to wake her as he called, "Swan. Isabella. Wake up! You need to give your statement to the D.A." The bed shook with the force he had been using, though there was absolutely no need for that, especially in a hospital setting.

"Over my dead body," Bella grumbled, parroting Edward's earlier words as she forced her eyelids open. "Where's Edward?"

Stepping closer to her side, Edward softly answered, "I'm right here. You're all right. I've got you." He picked her hand up and kissed her knuckles gently.

Bella hummed contentedly and smiled. "Don't leave me alone with them. Please."

"I won't leave you," Edward promised her. "There is no way I'll be leaving you alone with them."

"Sir, you need to leave the room so I can take her statement." Alistair shook his head at Edward in frustration.

Clearly the District Attorney wasn't getting what was going to happen; as there was absolutely no way Edward was leaving Bella in the room alone with these sharks, for her own sake.

Bella looked from Edward to the man she didn't recognize and then over to the man she recognized as the lawyer that had sprung her last time. "What is he talking about? What statement?"

Attempting to answer, Edward was interrupted by the new man, "Detective Black called and said you would make a statement against the Cullens and testify against them in exchange for having the charges against you dropped."

Shaking her head before looking over at Black, Bella was confused and clearly annoyed at the man's sheer stupidity. "Did Detective Black explain anything else to you, Mr.…?"

"Simon Alistair. I'm Chicago's District Attorney."

"Did he explain the rest of the situation to you or did he leave out anything that worked against him?" Bella moved around in the bed, trying to get comfortable. The handcuffs chaffed Bella's skin as they clanged against the bed rails loudly in the semi-quiet room.

Stepping forward, Peter asked the detective, "Are the cuffs really necessary? Clearly Miss Swan isn't going anywhere while she's injured."

Detective Black stood, staring at the attorney with his arms crossed over his chest. He was trying to intimidate them into doing or saying something incriminating. It would work on them, just like anyone else; he was sure of it. He always got what he wanted.

"I won't ask you people again, you all need to leave the room please. This is official business." Alistair turned back to Bella and held out the pad of paper, but she didn't bother taking it.

After a brief, silent, tension filled moment, Bella shook her head and revealed, "I'm not sure, what Detective Black told you, but I don't know anything. I haven't seen anything that could get them in trouble and I haven't heard anything that could get them in trouble. For all I know they're the perfect family, minus a few disagreements." Bella looked from Alistair to Edward before she looked at Black. "I don't know where the good detective got the notion that I could testify against them." Bella continued to try and get comfortable on the bed with little success. She was getting sick and tired of the damn bed that was never comfortable.

"I don't believe that for a second! You know something and you're going to tell us!" Black argued loudly. "Otherwise you'll be going to jail." He didn't like that this was the first, and only time to date, that he didn't get what he wanted.

Bella's eyes flashed in anger as she squared her shoulders and growled, "Why would I be going to jail? I told you, I don't remember anything more about the restaurant-"

"Wait," the district attorney interrupted, needing more information before they continued. "What restaurant? What are you talking about?" The man looked to Detective Black, arched his eyebrow and waited for the answers from his coworker.

Stepping forward, Peter smiled at Bella encouragingly and decided he would answer the DA's questions. "Mr. Alistair, my name is Peter Banks. I was retained as Miss Swan's attorney. From the sounds of it, I don't believe Detective Black has told you the entire story here. Miss Swan was a victim in a drive by. She was shot and has been in a medically induced coma for a few weeks. She just woke three days ago. Detective Black here has arrested her because she couldn't provide any more information than what she has already provided for that crime-"

Bella interrupted him then as she glared at the detective next to her, "That's the obstruction of justice charge he pulled out of his ass."

Continuing on as if he hadn't just been interrupted, Peter said, "And apparently, he was asking her questions about the Cullen family's legal standing. She explained to him that she has not seen anything that would be considered illegal and he added the charge of accessory after the fact for trying to help the Cullens hide these things Detective Black claims they have done. Might I add, he has no evidence to support his theories because the Cullens are upstanding, law abiding citizens."

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it!" Black screamed, glaring across the bed at Edward.

"Detective Black, if you cannot keep your voice down and your temper in check, I will have you thrown out of this room and file a report," Peter promised calmly.

Raising his hand to point at the lawyer, Black snarled, "I'll have you know-"

But the District Attorney wouldn't let him finish. "Detective Black, please release Miss Swan from the cuffs. She is the victim here. I won't prosecute this case. Any doctor could get up on the stand and testify to her state of mind and the adrenaline coursing through her. It would just be a losing case for me."

"WHAT?" Black shrieked like a little girl, astounded that the DA would give up that quickly without much of a fight. "How can you just let her go like that? She's the one that will bring the Cullens down! I know it! You can't just let her go! I can break her into telling us what we need to finally get the Cullens once and for all!"

Bella's head whipped over to the detective mid rant. "Break me?" She had already been broken. She had been broken for the past four years. Her aunt and uncle made sure to shatter every piece of hope she had in her with the abuse, both physical and emotional. However, coming to be with the Cullens, Bella felt like she was finally starting to regain some hope in her life - some happiness. Now this man, this detective had come in and wanted to break her all over again just for the sake of putting one man in prison. He didn't care what would happen to her in the end if he did break her. If Edward did go to jail, she would be broken and alone with no one to help her through. If Edward did not go to jail in the end, it would have all been for nothing. Edward was what was getting her through each day, the prospect of seeing him in the morning kept her waking up each day. She was finally becoming happy again for the first time since her mom and dad were alive. Edward was her happy place and she wasn't about to give that up for anything in the world.

"Detective, I think it's time to leave," Alistair told him as he grabbed hold of the irate detective's arm. Black looked at the DA and grumbled the entire time he took to pull out the keys and unlock Bella's shiny new bracelet. He slipped both pieces into his inside suit breast pocket as Alistair herded him out of the room.

He was Detective Jacob William Black of Chicago Police Department and he always got what he wanted one way or another. It just took a little while sometimes. He needed her broken and spilling her guts to him before the end of the day. She wasn't going to survive intact if he kept pushing and that's exactly what he was going to do. He wasn't going to let her out of that room without giving him the answers he wanted. He wanted the Cullens' asses by the end of the day and he would do everything and anything to get them.

Alistair turned back to the group of people in the room and said, "I am sorry for the inconvenience that may have been had today. It seems that people neglect to tell the entire story. I am sorry for the troubles. Miss Swan, please feel better soon."

As soon as the two sets of footsteps faded into the distance, Bella looked over at Edward and asked, "When can I get out of here? I don't like that just anyone can waltz on in here like he did."

Glancing over at his father, Edward replied, "Don't worry, we're working on getting you out of here. The guard at the door was away from his post. He should never have been able to get that close. I'm so sorry, Little Love. It won't happen again." He climbed into the bed next to Bella and had her curl into his body so he could hold her. She didn't resist his gentle leading. She laid her head on his chest over his heart and curled into him with her hand resting on his stomach.

Peter motioned for Senior to step aside with him for a brief moment. He explained that when he left the hospital, he would be in contact with Detective Black's superiors to lodge a complaint for harassment and falsely accusing Bella with absolutely no proof. It was very taboo of a detective to accuse a victim of a crime - any crime - of something as serious as Detective Black did with Bella. There would definitely be some tails getting fried today. Peter wanted to make sure it was Detective Black's butt. It was uncalled for, for a man like him to attack a small, fragile little woman like Bella who had never done anything against the law and had a past of heartache and hardships. It was insulting to him and he wanted to right the wrong that was happening to Bella.

Before Senior returned to Bella's bedside, his phone beeped, alerting him to an incoming text. He quickly checked the message and growled as he watched the short video clip attached to it. Sensing his rising anger, Carlisle stepped over to him as Esme and Edward helped Bella get comfortable on the bed, covering her up and getting her ice chips to munch on.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked his father quietly.

Senior glanced over his shoulder to see if the others were listening. When he determined they weren't, he showed the short, grainy video to Carlisle. "It seems like the guard, Mike, left his post to first flirt, then have a quickie with one of the nurses on duty. I'll have them disinfect that closet before the night's over." The tone of Senior's voice was deadly. He didn't like the fact that someone would put Bella's life at risk for a booty call. He would deal with it once and for all.

"What are you going to do about it?" Carlisle asked. He could tell that Bella brought out a protective side in most everyone around her - in Emmett, Jasper and him she had older brothers, while she brought out the father figure in Senior and the mother figure in Esme. Alice and Rose were the older, protective sisters. _Nobody would ever mess with Bella and get away with it,_ he mused silently.

"I'm going to invite them to dine with me at the warehouse when they get off shift tonight. It'll be an offer they simply can't refuse," he snarled quietly as he snapped his phone shut harshly. He looked over at his second oldest and asked, "Were we always this protective before?" Carlisle simply smiled ruefully and shook his head as they turned back around to the others in the room.

"Thank you for saving me from him. I didn't think he would ever stop asking me questions and go away," Bella mumbled into Edward's shirt sleepily. She was tired again. The heavy medication and adrenaline that was waning in her bloodstream were causing her to shut down quickly. It was her body's way of telling her she needed to rest and recover. She barely got her cup of ice safely back onto the table before she whispered "I love you," to Edward as she finally closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

Edward smiled to himself before kissing Bella's hair and whispering back, "I love you too, Little Love. More than you know."

"From now on, James will be posted at the door or in the room with her at all times. I doubt that's the last time we'll be seeing Black while she's in here," Senior told Edward quietly.

Nodding, Edward replied, "Thank you. I just want to keep her safe."

"We all do, Son."

Senior walked over and gently kissed Bella's forehead before smoothing some hair out of her face. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Get better soon, kid. We need you back at the house. I miss my talks with you."

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><p><strong>AN: First and foremost, please give a round of applause to TwiSNFan for her wonderful beta work. She's absolutely wonderful. And no, you cannot have her. She's mine.**

**Second, sorry for the late update, but as you may have read, my real life has been a mess lately. On top of everything else going on, I just learned that my mother will need a kidney transplant. I've been driving her to all her doctor's appointments (since she can't drive herself due to a broken right foot and having surgery on her left). I tend to get a lot of writing done while waiting for those to end, but I don't have much time to type the story up then once I get home. Please bear with me while my life crumbles and I attempt to pick it back up and fix it back together. I will try and keep to the ten days (or so) updates from now on, but it may get a little hard to keep that, so please bear with me. I will not be giving up on this story ever. It will be finished if it's the last thing I do!**

**Third, please leave a review. I love to hear what all of you think about it. Point out areas where I need to fine tune, point out areas you thought were good, point out areas where you thought were cute, but please, if you do, make it constructive criticism. If you're mean just for the sake of being mean, it helps nobody and isn't this whole thing one gigantic learning experience for reader, writer and beta? (Yes, I've learned she reads the reviews to see what y'all are saying about things.)**

**And last but not least, I am looking for an image for this story for the new layout. If anyone if savy with that kind of thing just let me know and show me what you got! I want to see what you guys can put together.**

**Thank you!**

**Jm_bc**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I do not own Twilight. I am not SM and I am not getting paid for this. If anyone is interested in making a cover picture for this story, let me know. I really would love to have a picture for this story. Please and thank you in advance! I'll see y'all below since nobody reads these. Read on!**

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><p>Bella woke to the nurse quietly noting her vitals on her chart. She smiled at the elderly woman and quietly asked Nurse Shelly, "I thought you only worked days until six?" She glanced at the window where it was dark, signaling to Bella it was well past six. She looked back at Nurse Shelly for an answer and didn't have to wait too long.<p>

"I do, Dear, but I had a few extra hours to cover part of another nurse's shift and before going home I wanted to make sure you were all right after the exciting day you had today. I also wanted to apologize that I couldn't get the security officers in time to help you any. When we got back here, you were already asleep again and Mr. Black was leaving with another man."

"Probably the District Attorney, Simon Alistair," Bella mumbled sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "And it's _Detective_ Black, not Mister," she added facetiously. "I made the mistake once, maybe it was slightly on purpose, and he looked like he was going to bite my head off."

Nurse Shelly chuckled and nodded, "He sounded pompous like that when I was speaking with him. I don't know what crawled up his butt or inflated his head, but he needs to take care of those and the sooner the better. Now go back to sleep. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Have a nice night, Shelly."

"You too Miss Swan. I'll see you tomorrow. You need to get back to sleep, it's almost ten. You're going to need all the rest you can get. Sleep fast."

Bella chuckled and nodded as she settled into Edward's arms even more. She would worry about the next day when it came. Hopefully it was fairly uneventful for her and Edward. She didn't know how much more excitement in their lives they could handle.

The next day was to be about re-evaluating and strengthening their relationship. The two of them had silently agreed that it would be a relaxing, rejuvenating day reconnecting to one another emotionally and physically. Given everything that had happened the previous weeks, they needed the time to themselves.

Reaching over her shoulder, behind her, Bella grabbed hold of Edward's shirt sleeve and pulled him closer to her. The added warmth of his body was very appreciated in the cold, sterile atmosphere of the hospital.

Normally, in their bedroom at the apartment, she would have been hot, but not at the hospital. The air was constantly circulating, giving the place a cold feel that would chill just about anyone to the bone if they didn't take preventative measures. Edward's warm body, steadily keeping her body heat up, was a God-send.

With his body so close to her, she allowed herself to relax into sleep once more with a small, self satisfied smile on her lips. _She'd gotten Edward to snuggle closer, hold her tighter, make her feel safe and loved._ Granted she realistically knew he would have done those things if she'd simply asked him, but she felt a small sense of accomplishment.

The morning after Detective Black intruded upon the silence of the hospital, Bella woke slowly with her head on Edward's chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her and the muted, regular hospital sounds; the squeaking of tennis shoes rushing up and down the hall, the beeping of various machines, telephones ringing from down the hall at the nurses' station and the low timber of people speaking to one another. Somehow during the middle of the night as she was sleeping, Edward switched from spooning her to acting as her pillow, though his hold on her never wavered or diminished. She could see the warm colors of the vast, new dawn swirling together through the thin hospital curtains and closed her eyes again. The peace in the room was appreciated and needed to keep Bella calm, but the most calming presence she could have was Edward right by her side.

Bella's hand gripped tighter to the fabric of Edward's shirt as she nuzzled her nose further into the skin of his neck. He smelled of spicy apples, as the fragrance of his body wash depicted and all man. He smelled like home to her and she didn't want to give that up a moment sooner than she absolutely had to.

The early hours of the day were spent by intermittently falling back asleep in one another's arms. Only around noon did she wake up again hoping she would remain so for the rest of the day since she didn't want to screw with her sleeping hours. She woke up to the touch of Edward pulling her tighter to his body and his warm hands doing distracting things to her body.

Sighing at the feeling of his soft, caring touch, Bella smiled sleepily into his broad chest, reveling in the feeling of the lingering touches he was bestowing on her hair. "That feels good," she mumbled, relaxing further into him. "Please don't stop."

Edward would never dream of such a thing. Her request for him to continue was the first time she had asked him to do something for her and he wasn't about to stop. He'd continue to the end of time if that made Bella happy.

"Are you actually awake this time?" Edward asked with a hint of amusement as he continued his ministrations causing her to nod in the affirmative.

The next sigh, Edward thought, was soft and sweet as his hand abandoned her hair and traveled to her face where his emerald eyes memorized every freckle, every curve, and every fleck of amber in her chocolate eyes. Just the tips of his fingers ghosted lightly over the soft skin of her hairline before dipping to her forehead to continue the languid perusal. Milk chocolate studied his face as emeralds learned everything about the skin below his fingers.

Edward could see the exhaustion written all over her face from the medications the doctors and nurses kept pumping into her system to keep the pain away and keep her healthy. The pain medication they had her on kept her sleepy and she found herself sleeping most of the days and nights away with Edward right there wrapped around her to keep her warm and safe. Edward didn't mind one bit staying by her side; he actually felt better when he did because he could then see with his own two eyes that she was all right.

As his fingers ghosted over her left eyebrow, they discovered a small scar that looked about a quarter of an inch in length. The mark was slightly raised, but the lighter colored skin was well hidden by a delicate, dainty eyebrow. _Maybe that was why he had never seen it before, even though he was very observant of her,_ Edward mused silently to himself. It was a small reminder that she had a traumatic past before she came into his life. A past that he wished he could extract from her and cradle her in his arms protectively against anything that might harm her.

Edward leaned in and gently kissed the small scar – its cause unknown. With the simple kiss, he hoped he could take the pain –physical and emotional- and give Bella a good memory in its place. He would take all the agony and suffering from each of her scars and replace them with a happy, cheerful memory.

The questions and concerns shone plentiful in his eyes, yet he didn't dare to ask and she didn't reveal. It was neither the time nor the place for such conversations to occur. Neither wanted to burst the secluded bubble they were encased in.

Tips of fingers traced along her straight nose before trailing in opposite directions along her cheekbones. When she wasn't in the hospital and was more receptive to the idea, he told himself he was going to take a whole afternoon and kiss each and every freckle on her body before he played connect-the-dots with them. He would tell her each of the things he loved about her, only then to take what she perceived as ugly, unsightly, or a problem in her mind or on her body and tell her how incredibly wrong she was. He would take the perceived flaws and tell her exactly how much he adored each and every one of them because, collectively, they all made her who she was. Sooner or later she had to believe him when he told her she was beautiful, both inside and out.

The light dusting of freckles under his fingers made him smile. If she ever wore make-up they would disappear and yet she never wore it. He loved that she wasn't trying to hide her so called "blemishes" or "flaws." They were perfect. He liked them immensely. He idly wondered if they would be more prominent of if there would be more after she spent some much needed time in the sun.

The thought of her smiling brightly, with sun kissed skin and a definite sparkle in her eye, ran through his mind. He smiled brighter when he thought of her playfully running from him in a little, royal purple bikini on a golden sandy beach with a beautiful, crisp blue body of water on one side and a deep green foliage on the other. The sun would be out shining brightly with dreamy, puffy white clouds lazing their way across the sky.

"What are you so smiley about today?" Bella asked in a whisper. She had watched quietly as he brushed across her cheekbones and got a faraway, dream-like look in his eyes before his smile brightened enough to light Heaven and Earth. He looked breath-taking in his happiness and she wanted to know what thought had lit his face so.

Brushing her cheekbones again, Edward came back to the present and kissed her lips gently before quietly revealing, "I can't wait to take you to the beach."

"Beach?" Bella inquired. "But I've been to the beach. Granted, it was a long time ago…"

"Not just any beach. I want to take you to a specific beach. It's beautiful and private and perfect, just like you." Edward kissed Bella's lips again chastely.

Bella realized he was giddy. In all her four months with the Cullen's she never once had seen Edward giddy. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped when she thought of a young, little, green eyed, bronze haired Edward, bouncing around because he was excited about something. She would bet he had been the most adorable thing in the world when he was young.

"Miss Bella, are you laughing at me?" Edward asked playfully.

Reaching up, Bella cupped Edward's jaw. "I was merely imagining you as an excited little boy. You must have been so cute. How did your mother ever say no to your charming little face?"

"Quite easily," he mused as he kissed her lips a third time. He rested his forehead against hers and stayed there as they stared into one another's eyes. Brown meeting green. Brown and green, just like in nature; a tree trunk and moss growing its surface; one giving the other stability, while the other gave nutrients and allowed the whole to prosper and bloom; a symbiotic relationship if there ever was one.

"I love you," Bella whispered against his lips; lips that curved upward before they answered the same.

"I love you, too." He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before he continued. "You'll never know just how amazing it is to hear you say that… When you said it after being shot, I thought that was going to be the first and only time I would ever hear those words from you. I didn't want the pain of losing you right after. I wanted to be able to hear them when I was sure they would be said again and again. But then there was the distinct possibility you wouldn't remember saying it…"

Bella was the one to initiate the chaste kiss on his lips this time, stretching slightly to reach his mouth. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I think you're going to be stuck with me for a long, long while, Edward."

"I'm mighty glad to hear it, Little Love. I'm glad to hear it. Now get some sleep, you look exhausted again. What are they giving to you? Sedatives?" Bella could only reply with a shrug, unsure of exactly what drugs were in her IV cocktail, though the nurse had told her each time they administered a dose. Edward touched her cheek lightly "The nurse said something about the neurologist coming in tomorrow to make sure nothing is wrong. He's probably going to want you to start moving around more, maybe take a walk around here or something. You're going to need your energy tomorrow."

Smiling sleepily, she yawned largely, right in his face causing him to chuckle. He leaned in and kissed her forehead before he swept his fingers down her jawbones and down her neck so lightly it felt like butterflies wings. The sigh that escaped Bella's lips was music to Edward's ears.

When he glanced back up at her expressive eyes, he found them closed and a soft smile splayed across her lips. He continued in his perusal of her body, leaving the more intimate places for later when she was ready, and definitely when they were out of the hospital and in the privacy of their own home. He didn't want any interruptions when he started to worship his wonderful wife.

"Are you going to continue your study of me even if I go to sleep?" Bella wondered out loud.

Long, lithe, musical fingers continued to ghost over every available inch of exposed skin, continuing to pass smoothly over every freckle, every scar, every perceived imperfection. Edward leaned in and kissed the crook of her neck where it met her shoulder before he nipped lightly at the skin.

Edward pushed the crinkly hospital gown away from Bella's collarbone, exposing the soft skin. His fingers danced around the newly exposed skin for a brief moment before he felt her tense beneath him. He looked up at her eyes and saw them closed tightly as if she was waiting for a blow that would never again come.

"Shhh, Little Love. I'm not going to hurt you. This is as far as I'm going to go…do you want me to stop?"

Shaking her head, Bella let out the breath she was holding in a whoosh. She opened her tired, fearful eyes and watched Edward. He looked into her eyes for a few long moments to make sure she was truly okay with his ministrations before he looked back down at her collarbone and continued to trace against her smooth skin once again.

The shuttering breath that came from Bella told Edward she wasn't used to gentle touches at all. She was used to harsh touches that would leave her injured and crying. Even after the months she'd spent with him and his family, she still thought she was going to get hurt when one of them touched her. Granted, that fearfulness wasn't there all the time now. When someone would move quickly or unexpectedly touch her, she would react violently. So far she seemed to be slowly accepting that nothing violently physical would happen at the apartment, unless Black and his goons or Tanya was there; a perceived physical threat.

Edward wanted to be the one to help her correct that way of thinking. He wanted to show her she had nothing to fear from him or his family. He thought he had been making headway with it, but there were still times when she flinched away from something unexpectedly moving. Knowing it would take a lot of time, patience and practice, Edward vowed to himself that one day, hopefully in the near future, she wouldn't flinch from anything.

"You have absolutely no idea how beautiful you are, do you, Little Love?" The enticing blush that lit up Bella's face had his hands moving up to touch the heated skin of her cheeks. Not only was her blush enticing, it was beauty personified. Not many women blushed in today's day and age and to find one that did was rare. The s_ame with the freckles; they're all too busy wearing makeup and trying to hide who they are, imperfections and all that they truly are,_ Edward mused quietly. "One of these days I'll get you to believe it."

Bella reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear, purposefully ignoring Edward's comments. She didn't want to deal with that roadblock just yet. _One issue at a time_, she thought. So changing the topic of conversation and feeling decisively yucky, Bella mumbled to herself, "I'd pay anything to get out of this gown right now."

Hearing her protests of the horrid, crinkly hospital gown, Edward remembered the duffle bag Alice had brought the day before. She had left the bag on the chair out of the way, so when Bella was feeling up to it she could change into real clothes. He didn't understand why they dressed her in one of the crinkly paper gowns when they usually placed longer term patients in the cloth gowns, but he figured the point was moot now that she had real clothes.

"I had Alice bring some clothes for you to change into. I bet you'd feel better if you weren't in that stupid hospital gown…" Edward muttered, unsure if he had done something right. He didn't know if she wanted to change then or if she wanted to wait until the nurses and doctors told her she could. Edward just wanted her to feel comfortable again.

Bella moaned at the treat of her own comfortable clothes once again touching her body instead of the crinkly paper hospital gown she had been quarantined to since she arrived. "I love you lots and lots and your sister is a life saver. I'm just saying." She reached out and grabbed the bag of clothes and smiled at the contents. Alice went with comfortable clothing instead of dressy. She would have to remember to thank her the next time she saw her.

"Can you help me into them?" Bella asked shyly as she bit her lower lip and looked up at him from under her thick lashes.

The movements were choppy and uncoordinated as they tried to carefully pull the set of black yoga pants on under her hospital gown. They didn't bother to put underwear or a bra on because it would just have to come off again relatively soon. Plus it would be rather uncomfortable for her when she had to lay back with them on. Once the pants were on, Bella pulled her arms from the sleeve of the gown, but kept it covering her chest and held the shirt out to Edward. He was gentle as he maneuvered the shirt over each arm on before pulling the gown out from under the shirt and away from her body. He crumpled it up and threw it in the corner, discarding it like the trash he thought it was.

Edward helped Bella to get situated on the bed again, laying her back against the pillows and covering her up with mounds of blankets so she wouldn't get cold. He smiled when he looked over at her. She was so adorable the way she was sitting. The blankets and the huge bed made her look like a toddler. The petulant look on her face and the fact she crossed her arms over her chest didn't help to change that picture of her.

Chuckling, he made his way over to the side of the bed and asked, "What's wrong, Little Love? What's got your panties in a twist?" Edward brushed some locks of hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ears before cupping her cheek and looking in her eyes.

"I'm not wearing any panties," Bella stated as if she was speaking of the weather outside.

The groan that left his body sounded like he was sick and dying. Bella's eyes grew wider in worry that he was actually hurt or something. But when Edward whispered, "Don't remind me," in her ear, she relaxed a little with the warming blush on her cheeks.

Shyly, Bella asked, "Can- can you lay with me? I sleep better when you're holding me."

Smiling brightly enough to light a small city, Edward nodded. "You don't have to ask twice. Scoot over a little."

With Edward's help and being mindful of her injury, Bella scooted over to the other side of the bed. He climbed in and covered up under the mound of blankets. She smiled at him and kissed his lips quickly. The giggle that escaped her lips was enticing and ethereal. He smiled at her and leaned in for a searing kiss.

Edward's tongue deftly swept slowly across Bella's lower, plump, dry lip with a gentle precision causing her to gasp quietly at the unfamiliar sensations. He took the opportunity to push the previously established boundaries a little and deepened the kiss, carefully exploring her warm mouth. They both knew nothing more than the kiss would happen due to their location and Bella's injuries, but it didn't stop Bella from moaning and Edward's hand from roving down the side of her chest, down her torso to come to rest on her opposite hip.

The kiss was intensely intimate. Bella had never felt something so…so invigorating in her life before. Nobody in the past four years had ever touched her in a nice, caring way. As clichéd as it sounded in all the books she had read containing this kind of thing, it was toe curling, breath stopping, life changing. The burning started where she felt him pressed against her from her mouth to her hip. It was almost like she was being reborn into a world that wouldn't purposefully hurt her. She knew it was unlikely and she would probably be hurt again in the future, but she knew Edward would protect her no matter what. She knew deep in her bones that he would die for her and that realization stunned her. She had come to the insight of his love a while ago, but this level of devotion, aside from her parents, was previously unknown to her on any level.

With the earth shattering realization, Bella's lips stilled against Edward's soft, plump, pink ones and her eyes popped open wide in surprise. Feeling her tense against him, Edward's eyes opened and saw her expression. He pulled away in a slight panic, hoping he hadn't frightened her. He looked into her eyes to determine if he had to do damage control but didn't see fear. What he saw blew him away. Understanding. Devotion. Affection. Happiness. Love. He saw it all and if he was being honest about it, he was stunned by it. He didn't know what brought it on, but he was happy about the latest development.

"What? What's wrong? What did I do?" Edward asked, just in case he actually did hurt her.

"I'm fine," she whispered back. "I'm perfect." She glanced between his eyes for the emotions she was positive she would find. When she saw what she needed to, she practically flung herself at Edward, connecting her mouth with his. Teeth clashed as she clumsily tried to kiss him. She was frantic in her movements, trying to get as close to him as physically possible.

Not understanding what had changed to bring on the new behavior in her, Edward took it in stride, yet tried to slow down the frantic nature of Bella's actions. He was able to ease her mind and reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere and that he loved her by expertly slowing her kiss and deepening it. When he added his hands into the mix, they both groaned. She held onto his face while one of his hands roamed from her hair down her back to her butt and cupped it gently, carefully kneading it, pulling her closer to his body while the other stayed tangled in her hair.

She was practically lying on top of Edward, covering his body with her own. In the back of her mind, the thought of her hospital gown had her thankful she had changed - that if anyone walked in, they wouldn't get to see her exposed backside.

The feel of Edward's hand perched on Bella's butt burned through her yoga pants and not at all in a way that was uncomfortable or unwanted. The foreign touch from someone who would never hurt her was exciting and brand new to her. All she had to do was tell him to stop and he would withdraw himself from her without any further questions or attempts to paw at her. She knew in that instant she could trust him with her life, her body and her soul. He wouldn't hurt her; he loved her too much to do that.

The lingering kisses weren't sexual in any way shape or form. They were sensual, slow and savoring. The kiss was somewhat awkward, as if a newborn colt was trying to walk for the first time in its life, but Edward understood Bella had never had this kind of touch before; this kind of intimacy. He knew it would take some time before they both became familiar enough with one another for it to be flawless.

The kiss wasn't too wet, just enough to keep the lips moist but not so moist it seemed like slobbering. It held a hint of promise of what could be - what would come when she was ready, in the lingering touches of hands and tongues.

How anyone could ever leave the house in the morning when they had someone to share this with, Bella would never be able to fathom. This was Heaven on Earth. The sensations he invoked from her had her breathless and awed. Edward's lips were so soft. They commanded her attention and gave her the comfort and care she needed at the moment.

When they finally pulled away, they rested their foreheads together, breathing in each others' breath, inhaling the other's essence into their lungs, and becoming one. The residual nips Edward placed on Bella's upper lip were sinfully good, causing a shiver to run up her spine. Bella followed Edward's lead and returned the nips to his lower lip as she cupped his jaw and sighed blissfully. Edward smiled at Bella's appearance when he was finally able to focus on something other than his own panting breath. She looked disheveled and flushed and completely beautiful. Her eyes held a sparkle he'd never seen before and her smile was radiant. Her hair looked like she had just woken up, her lips looked slightly swollen and she was panting heavily with excitement causing her chest to rub against his in the most sinful of ways. He couldn't tell when he had seen a sight as perfect as Bella on top of him.

He had seen women in this state before, but never one as gorgeous as the woman in his arms. The same look had seemed so fake on others. Maybe he hadn't let himself believe they were beautiful because he knew deep down he was just using them to warm his bed while he bided his time to find the one. Well, he had found her. Bella was the one who took his breath away, made his heart beat frantically, made the smile on his lips brighten and made him laugh. She was the one who made him a better person. She was his better half.

"Not that I'm complaining at all, but what was that about, Beautiful Girl?" Edward inquired, trying to catch his own breath.

Suddenly becoming shy, Bella shrugged and ducked her head into his chest to hide her growing blush. He hooked his finger below her chin and tilted it up so she would look at him. "Please don't hide those eyes from me. Please?"

"I'm sorry. I just- I don't know what happened. I just- I saw in your eyes. Y-you really do love me, don't you? You're not just saying it." Bella asked. Her revelation was huge, and changed her whole outlook on life. Everything she thought before that moment was all a lie. One lie after another told by her aunt and uncle to get her to cooperate and be a submissive, meek little slave who cooperated with their every demand without backtalk and attitude. It was all finally clear to her. She knew they were lies, but it didn't make them easier to dismiss. They had been drilled into her head for years and at some point along the way, they just became her reality. Seeing the truth in Edward's eyes was a major turning point for her and their relationship.

Edward smiled at her. She was finally getting it. "Absolutely. With all my heart."

"I didn't mean to attack you-" Bella told him nervously as she bit her lower lip.

"Nonsense, Little Love. I liked it," he whispered conspiratorially with a smile on his lips. "It was like you were finally letting yourself free. I was seeing the real you, the uninhibited you. I must admit, it's a rare treat to see. Allowing yourself to do what you wanted to instead of what everybody else told you to do. How did it feel?" The goofy smile on Bella's lips said it all. Edward couldn't help the matching grin on his face as he brushed some hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"I'm just worried that you're going to hurt your stomach-"

"Oh!" Bella gasped as if she just then realized she was lying on top of him and rolled off onto the bed next to him.

Brushing her hair out of her face, Edward saw just how much those kisses had eaten her energy. Her eyes were drooping and her smile was broad, but sleepy and she couldn't quite keep her eyes open all the way. He smiled softly at her before he told her, "You're obviously tired now. I didn't mean to tire you out. Try and get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

She nodded into his chest and turned over, facing away from him. She reached back and grabbed his hand and gently tugged so he would get the picture. He got the picture all right. He deftly curled around her body so he was spooning her back with an arm over her waist and the other below her head as a pillow.

"You know for a big, bad, mean mobster," Bella whispered to Edward though she wasn't facing him anymore, "You sure like to cuddle a lot. Not that I'm complaining. It's like you're like a cuddle monster or something." She giggled softly at the picture she had just painted.

Edward barked out a surprised laugh before he managed to contain it to a dull roar. He shook his head at her antics and told her, "I never know what's going to come out of your mouth next. You keep me on my toes and that's rare. It's amazing." He kissed the back of her head and revealed, "I never was a cuddler before. It seems you've brought that out in me. I'm glad you're not complaining about all the cuddles I seem to want."

Humming, Bella smiled to herself as her eyes slipped closed. "I like the cuddles. I think they help me with the realization that not all physical interactions are violent. Thank you for helping me with that."

"I'm glad I could be of some service. Now, get some sleep, Little Love. You're tired; I can hear it in your voice. I love you."

"Love you, too," she mumbled, though she was already half asleep. He kissed her temple and hunkered down to hold her as she slept.

A few hours later, Bella smiled sleepily as the hand around the top of her ribcage tightened its grip ever so slightly. She liked the safety and security she felt with Edward protectively wrapped around her as he was. He was holding her from behind, spooning her, with one arm wrapped around her and holding just under her breast. His fingers wrapped around the side of her ribcage and every time she breathed, they would skim against the shirt covering her breast. His thumb was up wrapped around the inside of her breast, tenderly laying there. Every so often he would rub it back and forth over the shirt to keep her calm and to remind himself she was right there in his arms and wasn't just a mirage. With the clothes she was now wearing, she could feel the warmth from his hand seeping through the tight, thin shirt. The other hand was wrapped under her, snaked down her torso and resting on the hip that was closest to the ceiling. He had her completely incased in his warmth and he wasn't about to let her go for anything.

The yoga pants didn't do anything to hide the erection that was pressed up against her butt, yet it was nothing new to her. Edward would often spoon her when they slept at night and in the morning, she would have the same issue, yet he never did anything to make her feel uncomfortable about it or rushed into something she wasn't ready for - he never pushed her into doing something she didn't want to do. Keeping one's word wasn't a coveted trait in this day and age. Edward had given her his word that she was safe with him, she knew he would never try to attack her, and she felt herself melting into the idea of the two of them together. The prospect of a future with the man behind her didn't scare her much anymore. She knew what kind of man Edward was and because he was such a trustworthy gentleman - never pushing, always telling her the truth and never trying to hide anything from her - she knew he would keep her safe, both emotionally and physically.

Opening up was hard to do for a person who had closed themselves off from everything for years. Bella refused to feel, refused to hope, refused to do much of anything because she knew the moment she did, she would be hurt for it. Her aunt and uncle were horrible people who would beat her for speaking out of turn. They would garnish her daily food wages if she stepped out of line and Heaven forbid she accidentally broke something that was near and dear to them. She learned that the hard way one time.

The scars were visible and crude on her hips. She loathed the day when Edward noticed them. She had been lucky up to that point to keep them hidden and covered, but she wasn't foolish enough to think she could keep him from seeing them one day. One day she would want to push their physical relationship to the next level; become intimate, and when that happened she wouldn't be able to hide an inch of her body from him, just like he wouldn't be able to hide any of himself from her. He would surely notice the raised and puffy scars that showed what a clumsy girl she was.

Bella squeezed her eyes closed tighter, trying to dispel the horrifying, grotesque memories of her past and live in the 'here and now' with Edward behind her, holding her, protecting her.

"Are you okay?" Edward inquired with a whisper against her ear when he felt her cringe. "Do you want me to move?"

"No!" Bella all but shouted urgently as she tried to scoot back into his warm body as tightly as possible to prevent him from letting her go. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, no. You're fine just where you are."

"You tensed. I didn't know if I was crossing any lines…"

Bella smiled in spite of the memories still flashing in her mind. He was always looking out for her well being, he was always looking to make her more comfortable. "Just some memories I don't care to think about anymore. My aunt and uncle are dead. They can't hurt me anymore."

Humming, Edward nuzzled his nose into Bella's strawberry smelling locks. "Physically, they're dead, buried and gone. They won't be able to hurt you ever again. But emotionally, even though they're gone from this earth, they're still hurting you with what they did and said to you over the years. They will always be there in your past and in your mind trying to control you; trying to manipulate you. You have to learn to ignore them and shut those voices out. They're wrong. Completely wrong. We need to get you to believe the truth instead of the lies they've beaten into you over the years. If you let me, I'm here to help with that. I want to know what they did to you so I can try and help you through everything. Yet, at the same time, my selfish side is begging you not to tell me. I don't think I would be able to quell my anger when I hear about some of the stuff they did to you…"

"You're helping me when you hold me," she whispered back. She reached down and laid her hand on top his hand that was resting on her hip; her small fingers falling between his until he turned his hand slightly so their fingers were interlocked. "Everything you do with me helps and you don't even know you're doing it. Just being around you is calming."

"I'm glad I can help," he replied as he gently squeezed her fingers.

Everything was quiet for a few minutes - as quiet as it could be in a hospital room - as they just held one another, basking in the silence and each others' presence before Edward requested, "Tell me something about you that nobody in the world knows."

"What? Like how I paint my nails because I bite my fingernails too much?" Bella snorted out before she fell quiet again.

The smile that lit Edward's face was hidden in her hair. He gently kissed the back of her head and told her, "That's all well and good, but that wasn't what I was talking about. Alice and, I'm sure, Esme know that already or could at least figure it out for themselves. Tell me one thing about you that nobody in the entire world knows about you."

Silence engulfed them as Bella thought and Edward gave her the time needed to come up with an answer. A Secret. A personal secret. Who would have thought it would be so incredibly hard to find a secret she was willing to share with Edward? It wasn't that she didn't want to share her secrets with him, it was just when she was put on the spot like that, she couldn't think of any.

"Well, when I was with Sue and Phil-" she started but stopped abruptly. She didn't know if Edward wanted to hear this, especially if it pertained to her past life, the part before him and all the sunshine, peace and happiness he brought with him.

Edward squeezed her fingers again to let her know she could continue with her thought. He would hear her out and he would try and keep his cool. It would undoubtedly be something he didn't want to hear. Those _people_ had hurt Bella so much and he didn't know if he could restrain his emotions enough to hear everything that had happened to her. He would try. He would be there for her. He would be the one constant in her life. He would be the one she could lean on when things started becoming too hard for her to do on her own.

"When I was with them," she started again. "The lawyer that had handled the funds from my family, the insurance policies, the properties and whatnot, well, she somehow figured out something was wrong. When I broke down and told her some of what was going on, how they would lock me in the closet for days when I didn't do my chores just right, or how they would take away my food for days on end for not making their food perfectly, well, she somehow got me food at lunch time at school. She would send large lunches for me and put a little baggie of nutrition supplements for me to take each day. And on Fridays, she would send me with enough stuff to get through the weekend. I had to hide the stuff in my backpack until I got home. I always saved some of the food each time she would send me some because I would often be held at home in the closet or something when I did something wrong. I made sure I always had something to eat. She was so nice to me…"

"Love, if she knew what was going on, why didn't she try to get you out of there?" Edward questioned. What kind of person could sit back and not do anything if they knew a child, no less, was in trouble like Bella was?

Bella squeezed his fingers with hers to tell him she was all right talking about this. "She did. Multiple times, but Phil would sweet talk himself out of the trouble he was in. She was constantly filing paperwork with the state and everybody else she could think of to get me out of there, but one visit to the house and the social workers and child protective agents would think he walked on water and the sun shone out of his butt. It sickened me each and every time. And when they would go, he would only make my punishments worse. I think it was a little after being with Sue and Phil for three months or so that I just completely shut down. I went into survival mode. I didn't resurface again until I woke up back at the apartment with you in the room. I was still scared, but I wasn't as scared as I thought I would be in a strange place surrounded by people I didn't know."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Little Love. I'm glad there was at least one person fighting for you when you were alone and couldn't do anything." Edward pressed his nose to Bella's hair again and breathed in deeply before holding her tighter to his body. "But I'm here and my family's here now. You have us in your corner whether you think you need us or not. I know my father, brothers and most of their wives would kill for you. And that's not something to be taken lightly. You have been taken into the Cullen family and we'd do anything to protect you." He brushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear before asking, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Anywhere in the world."

"Anywhere?" Bella inquired. "Why?" She turned around in his arms and looked at him critically, trying to determine what he was trying to get at.

Edward nodded once in confirmation. "Anywhere."

Humming, Bella closed her eyes and thought for a long, quiet moment while Edward stared at her expression. She had a small furrow between her eyebrows and she was biting on the inside of her cheek in contemplation. He watched the flash of emotions dance across her face before she smiled softly. "Someplace warm."

Smiling, Edward ghosted his fingertips over Bella's jaw as he asked, "Does this warm place have a name by any chance?"

When she opened her eyes, Bella saw the amusement in Edward's eyes as he continued to glide his fingers over her soft skin. She would never know just how taken he was with her. He was so enamored with her that he would do anything for her. Anything she asked of him, he would gladly do or give her. She was perfect for him in every possible way. She kept him thinking, kept him on his toes, and kept him sane. She was the reason he was so happy and he didn't want to give her up for anything. She was the reason there was a light in his eyes that had been absent before her arrival, an extra pep in his step when he walked and a happy undertone to his voice when he spoke. He was actually smiling and laughing now. Before she came into his life, there was nothing to smile about, nothing to laugh about, nothing to be happy about. With her by his side, he was a whole new person and he actually liked himself now.

"Edward. Quit making fun of me."

"Alright. Alright. Sorry." Edward couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice or off his face when he spoke to Bella. "What else? Tell me more about this warm place you want to go. I want to know everything about where this place is and what it holds."

Bella sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair. His eyes closed and he sighed at the feel of her hands in his hair. They were comforting; peaceful. Everything was silent for a long moment as Bella thought about his questions and her answers. "Tropical. When it rains, it's a warm rain." Bella smiled to herself serenely as she continued with her description. "And it's almost always sunny. Not a lot of people around to annoy us with their antics, stupid questions and stares. Lush with real greenery surrounding everything, not the fake potted plants around a hotel lobby. Solitude so you and I can just be ourselves without worrying about anyone else. Maybe even a beach with palm trees and a hammock and white sandy beach; maybe a dock and somewhere close would be a small waterfall and a meadow with lots of intensely colored flowers speckling the grass area that we can lay in and stare up at the sun and make shapes out of the clouds."

"What else?" Edward inquired. He was intrigued to hear the details of the one place she wanted to go. He wanted to be able to take her there one day. "Tell me everything; even the smallest details. I want to know them all. Please."

"A small barbeque area. Maybe a covered porch or two. Lots of windows, to allow natural light into the place. The sky would be bright blue and the sun would be dazzling yellow. The clouds would be fluffy white. The colors should be vivid and vibrant like they're meant to be in the tropics."

Edward smiled at her. He knew exactly where he could take her that would fit her description to a 'T.' He liked the thought of having her on Cullen Isle where nobody could hurt her ever again. The prospect of having some much needed solitude for an extended period of time made him feel giddy at the thought. Scratching his jaw, Edward inquired, "And how long would we be there?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "I haven't thought that far ahead." She scratched his scalp soothingly as she bit her lower lip in thought. "How about forever?"

Groaning, Edward dropped his head to her shoulder and nuzzled closer to her warm body as she continued her tender touching. He sighed against her and nodded. "That sounds perfect; together in paradise where nobody can try and tear us apart. Sun, sand and surf all day every day. My parents have a place that is just like that."

"When can we go?" Bella joked. "It sounds perfect."

"You're perfect," Edward answered her seriously. Bella scoffed at him. She was far from perfect and they both knew it. "You are," he continued. Edward wrapped his arms securely around Bella's torso and buried his face between Bella's breasts, breathing in her warm, soft, feminine scent before he calmly persisted with his reasoning. "You're perfect for me. You allow me to be the best version of me possible. I'd like to think I do the same for you as well. That's what your other half does."

Not comfortable with the direction the conversation was going, Bella quickly leaned down and placed her lips in Edward's hair for a quick, chaste kiss before she redirected and asked against the top of his head, "You travel a lot, right? Where is your most favorite place in the world?"

"I used to travel a lot, but I think the best place I've ever been is right-" he nuzzled the space between her breasts again causing a shiver to run up her spine. "Here. I've never been in a better place than this ever before."

"Yeah right," Bella lamented as she continued running her fingers through his hair. "I bet you tell that to all your girls."

Edward's eyes flashed up to Bella's with an emotion in them she'd never seen before, but before she could resolve what it was, it had disappeared. "I'm not as naive as you may think I am. I know I'm not going to be your first."

Sighing, Edward held onto her tighter, afraid she was going to run as he buried his face in her chest. His words came out mumbled when he spoke. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you you'll be my first. You're not stupid enough to believe it. I've only had a handful of girls over the years because I was lonely for the weddings or just plain lonely, but you are the only one I've given my heart to. Call me a sap, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I like having you by my side. I'll regret for the rest of my life not waiting for you. It would have been so special."

"It still will be," Bella responded. "It'll be special because it's with you. Now look what you've done, I've turned into the sap. They were in your past because that's just what they are, your past; your history. If you hadn't done what you did throughout your life, you wouldn't be who you are today. And I love who you are today."

"I love you too, Little Love. You have no idea just how amazing you are, do you? Not every girl can overlook my past indiscretions."

"I'm not necessarily over looking them, Edward," she informed him softly as she pulled him against her tighter, and closed her eyes. "I'm accepting them for what they are - in the past, where they belong. Everyone has a past and I'm not going to punish you for what you did before I came into your life."

Pulling her closer to him so she could relax and get back to sleep, Edward nuzzled his face into her hair and tried to reassure her, "I don't hold your past against you, either."

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><p><strong>AN: I love my beta! TwiSNFan is a God send. She makes all of this possible. She makes all of this legible and she makes all of this coherent. Without her, none of this would be up here! Go send her some love if you can!**

**Leave a review if possible and let me know how I'm doing. What resonated with you during the chapter? I want to know what you think about the chapters because they give me an idea of where to take this. None of it was written before hand so I'm muddling through it as I go. I thank everyone who has reviewed. You're so, so amazing. When leaving a review, please keep in mind, constructive criticism is most welcomed, even encouraged, but don't just leave a nasty review to be mean. That helps no one and nobody learns from anything. Thank you so much!**

**Thank you to DreamofRob10 who rec'd this story! You're wonderful and I can't believe you would put my name with all those other wonderful writers. And a big thank you goes to SLKat who brought the rec up to my attention. If by some wayward chance someone sees one of my stories somewhere else, please drop me a line and let me know so I can give the author some love.**

**Who knew I could write an entire chapter with just three characters about being sensual but not sexual. Wow. I'm expanding my writing capabilities! I'm so proud of myself! I did it! It gave me hope for the upcoming chapter where they finally get down and get jiggy. And for those who are itching for the physical relationship to go further, I hope this satisfied at least a few of you, but I do have a reason they're not going all the way right now. I hope to have the reason out in an upcoming chapter. I do know what I'm going to do for that respect.**

**On a side note, I'm not sure I care for this new set up of this site. Yes the comments are easier to write and you don't have to wait for anything to pop up and load, but the save to favorites and everything still confuses me. I got the gist down, but I have to stop and look at it before I do it. And the font size! It won't let it go any smaller! I don't want to ruin my eyes too much and it isn't helping matters.**

**I'm working on chapter 16 already but it probably won't be out for a few weeks depending how fast I can type and how much free time I can scrounge up. I have a funeral to attend this next week, so I'll pick up my writing next week again.**


	16. Chapter 16

**We're past the half way mark! I suspect there will only be about 30 chapters in this story. That's including the epilogue. I want to thank everybody who has rec'd this story, reviewed this story, alerted this story, favorited this story and stuck with me through this process. You guys are flipping awesome! I will be finishing this story if it's the last thing I do. So to those who have reviewed and PM'd me with that question, the answer is YES!**

**Some of you may recognize some of the gruesome stuff in this chapter, especially if you watch CSI: NY. I got the idea from there. I don't mean to infringe on anyone's ideas. I did not come up with the idea, but I will admit to twisting it to meet my needs. I'm a writer. It's a writer's prerogative to fudge a few facts.**

**Unfortunately, I don't own Twilight and I never will. SM owns all that.**

**Since you've all been so great to me and so understanding about how RL can get in the way, here's an extra long chapter just for you! Now, without further adieu, read on!**

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><p>"What's the verdict, Doctor?" Bella asked solemnly. She realized the past couple days, even though all the tests determined she was fine, that she had been forgetting things. They weren't big things, more like where she put something, or who she had talked to. Bella wondered if the doctor would let her out of the sterile, white prison. Edward had been concerned about the sheer amount Bella had been forgetting. It wasn't like her to be that scatterbrained.<p>

Doctor Dew smiled at her as he crossed his arms over his chest, hugging the clipboard that held Bella's charts. "Looking over the results the neurologist charted, we believe the forgetfulness is a side effect of the two massive concussions you sustained and believe with time, it will go away. We're not worried about that too much. The thing we're most concerned about is your stomach. As you have been informed, a chunk of your stomach and large intestines and a large chunk of your small intestines had to be surgically removed. My worry is you won't be able to digest food properly, resulting in malnutrition, dehydration, anemia, and a slew of other things."

Nodding, Bella asked, "How can I combat that?"

"You'll most likely be on dietary and nutritional supplements the rest of your life," the doctor revealed, watching Bella to gauge her reaction.

Impatient as he was, Edward jumped in to ask, "Is there a specific one that would be better than the others?"

"I'm going to write a prescription for a good daily vitamin. Do you prefer gummies or pills?" Dr. Dew asked Bella.

"Either one, Doctor," Bella responded.

"All right, you didn't hear it from me, but over at Costco, there's a type of gummy vitamin called MultiVites. It essentially is just like the prescription I'm going to give you, so if you absolutely have to, you can use those in a jam. It says to take two, but with your condition, I am going to suggest taking four. I know that's twice the recommended dose, but due to the lack of absorption your body is capable of, most of that will just flush through your system anyway. I'm also going to make one for an Iron tablet, a magnesium tablet and a vitamin D plus calcium tablet…"

"What's all that for? Why can't she just take the one pill that covers all that?" Edward asked. Bella squeezed his hand to indicate she was all right with the turn of events as long as it got the IV out of her arm and her out of the hospital.

The doctor turned to Edward to answer his question. "The body doesn't just seek out the nutrients it needs, it's a careful see-saw balancing act, Mr. Cullen. The calcium helps the vitamin D absorption; the calcium in the daily will help with the iron I'm prescribing. Bella's latest blood test already showed iron deficiency due to the surgery. She needs the iron and the best daily vitamin I can get her does not contain iron."

"That's just asinine," Edward stated like it should have been common knowledge.

Bella squeezed Edward's hand again before reminding him, "Asinine or not, Edward, it's my life from now on, so I need to get used to it."

"Correct," Dr. Dew replied. "Once we get the vitamins figured out, I am willing to discharge you early this morning, with the conditions that Dr. Cullen check on you continuously, you keep getting good rest and not over exert yourself. Does that sound like a deal, Bella?"

With a vigorous nod, Bella immediately told him, "I promise! Just get me out of here."

As Doctor Dew laughed at Bella's pleading and excited reaction, she blushed at the embarrassment of her outburst. She ducked her head allowing some of her hair that had gotten loose from her messy pony tail to fall in her face and curtain her discomfort.

"I'll start with the paperwork and the scripts. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." The doctor left the room, leaving Edward and Bella to themselves to get the ball rolling on the paperwork that would ultimately release Bella from the prison she was in.

It would be a hard few months, but if anyone could survive it, it was Bella. Edward knew that.

Edward smiled over at Bella before he tucked her loose hair behind her ear. He was about to ask her if she was excited to get out of the hospital when Bella piped in and asked, "Can you help me gather my things so when the doctor comes back we can go?"

Not able to hold his belly laugh, Edward shook his head and replied, "Well, that answers my question."

With a look of absolute horror and sarcasm dripping with every single word, Bella asked, "You thought I liked it here? With the crappy food? The constant air circulation? No fresh air? The sterile environment? The chemical smell? The squeaking in the night of carts and shoes, keeping me up at night? Nothing decent on television? The needle in my arm? Oh, yeah, what's not to like?"

Edward shrugged. "You never know. You may have come to like this place…"

"Heck no! I'm about ready to go insane in here! Get me out already!"

Chuckling, Edward reached up and brushed her unkempt hair out of her face and responded, "Just hold on a little longer and you'll be out of here. We'll be back at the apartment and you can finally get some rest without all the distractions. How does that sound?"

"Heavenly," Bella groaned. She was looking forward to being back in the place she considered home with Edward. She wanted her own bed with the best view of the city with her own bathroom and her own things. She wanted to be surrounded by familiar things, sights, smells and noises. The need to have some alone time without people coming to check on her every few moments was integral to her maintained sanity.

When Edward sat on the edge of the bed next to Bella's legs, she reached out and took his hand in hers as she relaxed back into the pillow below her. The small, peaceful smile on her lips was an indicator to Edward that she was happy to get out of there. He reached up and brushed her cheek and smiled brightly down at her when she opened her eyes.

"I love you, Little Love," Edward whispered, suddenly needing to say it. "I love you. Don't forget that."

"Never," Bella mumbled back as the last little bit of Vicodin that would be administered to her in the hospital was pushed into her bloodstream and pulled her into a medically induced sleep.

An hour or so passed while Edward sat next to Bella on the bed, watching her sleep, holding her hand as he waited for the doctor to come in. He wanted to get his girl home before anything else could happen to her. Nobody would ever dream of calling him on it, nor would he ever admit it aloud to anyone but her, but Edward was scared when it came to Bella's safety. It always seemed that she had the short end of the stick when it came to life and its experiences.

The doctor came in shortly thereafter with his chart and paperwork that needed to be signed. Being the spouse, Edward was able to sign the papers without a problem. Dr. Dew explained to Edward the various tasks that would need to be done - the prescriptions, the wound care, physical therapy and diet - before he left stating that he would send a nurse in with a wheelchair as well as to help with the wires.

Bags were packed quickly with everything Bella and Edward had accumulated over the weeks residing in the hospital. Edward had made sure everything was packed and by the door by the time Nurse Shelly came into the room. She smiled at the two occupants of the room, the patient she would probably never forget and the annoying, yet protective, handsome and assertive man that was by her side throughout the entire stay.

"How are you doing today, Dear?"

Smiling, Edward nodded, "I think I'm okay. I'm ecstatic that she gets to come home today. I think she is too. I'm learning she doesn't do well outside of her normal surroundings for a long period of time."

When Shelly nodded, Edward knew she understood and it wasn't just one of Bella's weird quirks. Edward brushed some hair out of Bella's face and smiled softly at the picture of innocence and peace she exuded as she slept. She was so unencumbered by the daily worries that plagued everyone. _She's beautiful._

"You take care of that girl, you hear me?" Nurse Shelly asked sternly as she studied Edward. She knew he wouldn't hurt her and she knew the small, fragile girl in the hospital bed across the room was the single thing that hung the moon and stars in his world, but she wanted to make sure that girl had the very best of everything in the world. Just by looking at her, anyone could see that Bella hadn't had the easiest or happiest of lives, but Nurse Shelly wanted the promise of Edward making sure she got everything she ever wanted from that point on out. "If I hear one word to the contrary, I'll come and personally shove my foot so far up your ass that you'll be tasting the leather and rubber. I don't care who you are or what family you're a part of. You hurt her and I'll make sure you don't sit for a month. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, Nurse Shelly. Crystal clear," Edward chuckled at her motherly attitude. He knew she had an inkling of what kind of family he came from, but Bella had grown on her over the past couple of weeks and she was out to protect her cub from anyone and anything. "You don't have to worry about that. I'll make sure she gets the best of everything from now on. You have my word on that." He looked at the older nurse as he spoke and smiled serenely, showing her that he meant the truth of his words.

She studied him for a long moment before she nodded once, signaling she knew he was telling the truth and that the conversation was over. "Help me wake her up, gently, please."

It took a few minutes to rouse Bella, but once she was awake, Edward made sure to keep her speaking and moving so she wouldn't fall back to sleep until she was at the apartment. Shelly left to snag a wheelchair to get Bella down to the car as hospital regulation states.

"How are you feeling, Little Love?" Edward asked quietly as he leaned in and rested his forehead against the side of her head. He had perched himself on the bed beside Bella, facing her.

In response, Bella yawned and mumbled a "fine." Sleep was calling to her again and she wanted nothing more than to go back to it. All the excitement of getting out of the hospital was wearing her out completely. There was just too much stimulation.

Edward chuckled at her response before he let his nose trail over her jaw and placed lingering pecks of his lips against the smooth, creamy colored skin. He was so happy she was coming home with him. He wanted to see her in their room again. He wanted to snuggle with her in their bed. Just the prospect sleeping in the massive, comfortable bed again thrilled Edward to no end. The chances of them using the entire bed were slim to none though – they would instinctively cuddle close to one another in the middle of the bed.

"I love you so much, Little Love."

Bella hummed as he placed more chaste kisses on her jawbone and told him with a whisper, "I love you, too." The small kisses were the most she'd gotten in a long time and they felt so good against her skin. Edward hadn't wanted to put any extra strain on her while she had been in the hospital - especially after Nurse Shelly had already scolded him for causing Bella's heart monitor to beep frantically - and Bella understood that. Making sure she got better was Edward's and, inadvertently her number one concern at the moment.

"I need to make sure we have everything people brought. I just need to make another pass through. You sit there and please try and stay awake for me. The sooner we can get you into the wheelchair, the sooner we can get you back home and into your own bed again. How does that sound?" Edward asked as he stood to make one more walk through of the hospital room to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

While he was searching in every small nook and cranny for other personal items from the bathroom, he made a call to the grumpy old Banner, asking him to drive them home. Banner was quick to agree. Other than the fact it was his job, Banner being the old coot that he was just wanted to see with his own eyes that Bella, the only one that could make him truly smile, was indeed all right.

Once he was sure they hadn't left anything behind, a nurse came in and detached Bella from the various machines and IV's. Bella smiled sleepily over at Edward once she didn't have to deal with the pesky IV anymore.

Not too much later Shelly came back with the wheelchair and explained, "This is a hospital wheelchair, but I managed to finagle it so you can take it home with you. Once you get her situated at home you can bring it back. Normally something like this wouldn't happen, but we know you have enough funds to cover it and if you don't get it back to us we know where to send the bill."

"Thank you," Edward replied to the motherly nurse who had promised to kick his butt if he stepped one toe out of line.

Edward carefully helped Bella to stand but with the atrophy in her legs from not using them for so long, she almost fell over. She was leaning on him heavily and Edward was carrying most of her weight as he helped her into the waiting wheelchair. It would be a long process to get Bella back in good health. It would take at least a month for the wounds to heal and at least that long for her to be able to walk on her own. Knowing that she would need help to do just about anything, Edward quickly sent off a text asking most of his brothers and sisters-in-law to help when Bella needed it. The chances of the others wanting to help were high, he knew they would do anything and everything to help his Little Love in any way they could.

The ride down the elevator and into the freezing cold air of the city was short lived. The sun was just peaking over the tops of the building in a beautiful sunrise, though the clouds were masking most of it. The peak of sun let the city's occupants, if awake, to see the individual snowflakes falling from above. Shelly pushed Bella steadily while Edward hauled the bags of stuff, always making sure he was within Bella's eyesight to reassure her in case she panicked.

In the loading zone, Banner was already waiting for them. He opened the back door with a smile at Bella, which she returned with a tired one. Edward dropped the bags on the pavement before helping Bella into the car.

"Thank you," Bella whispered to him tiredly as he buckled her up. All the moving around was wearing her out and he just wanted to get her home so she could get some sleep in her own bed where she could completely relax and not worry about a single thing. He knew she could do it herself, but he wanted to take care of her in whatever way he could, little gestures or big, he was hoping he could do it all.

Edward ran around to the trunk of the car and pulled out a blanket before returning to Bella's side. He flung it over her and ducked into the car to make sure it was nice and snug around her to keep her warm for the drive home. He quickly ran around to the other side after helping the nurse load the wheelchair and the bags into the trunk and buckled before he curled up next to Bella to hold her the short way home.

Not having been out of the apartment too much since she first awoke in Chicago, Bella forced her eyes to stay open as they drove through the vast city. The tall sky scrapers were still as dull looking from the street as they were from the apartment above. But the difference this time was the pristine, untouched white snow dotting around the city. It all looked so peaceful and…perfect; like one of those Winter Wonderlands she'd always heard of over the years. She had only seen snow once or twice in her lifetime, the last time being when she was in second grade and the weather got so cold in California that it froze all the puddles over night. That was when she first discovered black ice too. Unfortunately, she had discovered it the hard way and her butt paid the price for it.

Even during early hours of the day, the traffic around and through the city was horrid. People were honking rudely at one another, the stupid drivers were cutting people off and creating traffic backups and the pedestrians and cyclists were even worse. Edward was thanking his lucky stars he decided to have a driver take them home otherwise he would have been in a horrible mood when they finally arrived, plus this way he could hold onto his girl for dear life the entire way home.

The moment they got back to the apartment, having been stuck in the worst traffic back up in history, Bella wanted some real food before she went up to the fourth floor to get some much needed, uninterrupted sleep.

"What would you like to eat? As long as it's fairly simple, I can get something ready while Edward goes and gets the bedroom ready," Jasper supplied from behind Edward and Bella.

"Nonsense," Esme said, stepping around the small group that had gathered in the kitchen doorway and eating area. As she stepped closer to Edward and Bella she further offered "Whatever you want, I can get you, simple or not."

"The doctor said to eat food high in iron and vitamin C until I get the scripts filled," Edward gently reminded Bella, and consequently explaining it to the others in the room for future reference. "I'll do that when I have you all settled and sleeping in the bed, Little Love."

Bella's head snapped up so she was looking at Edward upside down as he pushed her in the wheelchair. Her eyes widened dramatically. If it were during any other situation, Edward would have found it funny, but there was nothing funny about any of it. Opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong; Bella beat him to speaking when she asked, "Stay? Please?" Her eyes glassed over, indicating the tears she was desperately trying to hold back. "Don't leave me, please Edward?"

"You need your medicine, Little Love. I was going to make sure you were comfortable and fast asleep before I went to fill them…" Edward explained as he brushed her hair down then kissed her forehead upside down. "You're safe here."

A lone, renegade tear tracked down her temple and disappeared into her hair before he stepped around to the front of the wheelchair so they were looking at each other properly. Another lone tear trekked down her pale cheek. "Please?" She pleaded of him. She would manage through the pain if she could only keep Edward by her side for a moment longer.

At the moment, all Bella needed was Edward's arms, food and a soft place to fall and she would deal with the rest when presented. She just wanted to re-familiarize herself with her safe place and she couldn't do that when the main component - Edward's safe, strong, soothing arms – weren't around her. She needed him to ground her in reality.

"Please don't leave. I can't-" Bella weakly tried pleading as the beginnings of a panic attack crept through her like a cold freeze. She had had attacks like this before, but not since she had arrived at the Cullen's place. She thought she was through with the panic attacks, the unnecessary worrying, the constant dread of what would happen next, but she didn't know what to think. _How did she end up like this?_ Her breathing accelerated rapidly as she slowly started getting lost in the fear.

"Shhh, Little Love. You're fine. You're safe." Edward kissed her forehead again before kneeling down in front of the borrowed wheelchair. "Everything is okay. You're all right. I've got you."

The apartment was silent as the others watched the aftermath of the drive by. The sun had risen in the sky and was at it's peak, just visible from the Cullen's penthouse apartment. With the placement of the noon winter sun, long shadows were being cast further into the middle of each floor from the large ceiling to floor bay windows of the apartment. They made eerie shapes that danced across the floor that went unnoticed by everyone aside from Bella. She absentmindedly saw the shadows as she felt her body slowly shutting down.

"Please don't go," Bella pleaded helplessly. She couldn't stand the thought of being in the apartment without Edward. Even though there would be other people flitting around most likely worrying themselves about her, Bella would undoubtedly feel alone. The dread that seeped into her bones at the thought of him leaving her alone, even as she slept, made her physically ill.

Sighing again, Edward nodded, "All right. I'll figure out a way to get your meds to you without leaving."

"Thank you!" Bella blubbered embarrassingly as the sobs and tears finally broke lose from the dam she had put up. The tears flooded down her face even when Edward reached up and brushed the wetness away with his thumbs. He brought her close to him and wrapped her in a tight hug as he stroked the back of her hair and tried to calm her.

"Shhh, Little Love. Everything is going to be okay now. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me from now on."

Bella gripped the back of his shirt as tightly as she could, holding onto her life raft for dear life. She was desperate for some comfort and rest and knew Edward could provide them to her. He was her rock during her hard times and a shoulder to lean on when she needed him. He was the only one who had affected her so much when she came to Chicago, the one to break through her walls before breaking them down completely. He was the one to ultimately make her happy.

Stepping closer to the entwined couple, Emmett, loathe to interrupt their emotional homecoming moment, quietly commented, "I can always go get the meds from the pharmacy. Only if you want…"

The pleading, yet grateful look Emmett got from Edward over Bella's trembling shoulder told Emmett that his volunteered time and services were very much appreciated. Edward nodded at his elder brother before letting Bella go just enough to get the scripts from his pants pocket. The whole time Bella kept the death grip on Edward's shirt to make sure he didn't go anywhere, as if she thought he would disappear right before her eyes.

Edward held the papers out to Emmett, who took them and inquired, "Same place we get ours filled?" Edward simply nodded as he tucked Bella back into his chest. "All right, I'll be back in twenty. You hold in there, Squirt."

"Thank you," Edward told him, looking over Bella's shoulder again.

Emmett nodded in response. "Go tuck your girl into bed. She looks like she could use the rest." Emmett's departure was barely noticed by the rest of the group, their attention returned to the couple that had been to hell and back since they had met four months prior.

Not too much later, once Bella had eaten a spinach salad with a side of mandarin oranges - since she complained 'fruit does not go on a salad, unless it's a fruit salad' - Edward rolled her up to the fourth floor and into the familiar room they had been sharing since thanksgiving. Bella observed that nothing had changed while she was away, except the pile of clothing pouring from the closet on Edward's side. Bella was glad for the consistency.

Edward quickly turned down the covers before he came around and plucked her from the confines of the wheelchair and ever so carefully placed her in the cool sheets of their bed. The small smile on Bella's lips at the feeling of her own, clean sheets made Edward smile in turn. He was so happy he could do something for her, even if it was as simple as having her own things surrounding her.

Sitting down on the bed next to her, he covered her and asked, "Is there anything I can get you? Anything you need?" He reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear before letting his hand cup her cheek affectionately. "Tell me what I can do to make it all better?"

"Lay with me?" Bella asked shyly as she looked at him from under her long, thick lashes. If she had any idea what that look did to him, she would never again worry about asking him for anything. Edward was powerless to deny her anything when she looked at him with those soulful, hurting eyes and shy demeanor.

Foregoing a verbal answer, Edward removed his shoes, carefully crawled over Bella's legs and dove under the covers next to her. He got comfortable on his side so he was facing her and in turn, she turned to do the same. Edward reached up again and ran his hands through Bella's hair, brushing it out of her face before smiling languidly at her.

Blushing bright red, Bella ducked her face as she whispered, "I'm sorry I'm being so needy and clingy right now. I don't know what's come over me."

Edward pulled her in closer to his body and replied, "Don't worry about it. I'd be more worried if you weren't having any sort of reaction to what's happened. Or worse; pushed me away. And to tell you the truth, I don't mind you being so needy, or clingy for that matter. It makes me feel useful. And like the doctor said, you're going to have to rely on others for a little bit; only until you're feeling better."

When Bella sighed, Edward knew she was going to try and reason with him. Little did she know, Edward had every intention of doing everything the doctor had told them to, to the letter. Bella wasn't going to be able to talk her way out of this one.

"I don't like being so dependent on others, Edward. It makes me feel like a leech to you and your family. I don't want to be waited on hand and foot like some gimpy, spoiled princess or something. That's simply not me." Bella curled into herself, making her body as small as it could be. Edward knew she felt exposed and tightened his hold on her for a moment before he started playing with the ends of her hair behind her back.

"Little Love, there are some things in life you won't like doing, but you'll need to do. Relying on others, especially right now, is one of them. I don't expect you to like it, but I do expect you to ask someone if you need anything; just until you're better and can do it on your own. Can you at least try, for me?" Edward implored staring into Bella's eyes as he tried to get her to understand just where he was coming from.

Bella made a face, grimacing and scrunching up her nose in distaste, but nodded just the same. "I'll try, but no promises."

Kissing Bella's forehead, Edward smiled and whispered against her soft, warm skin, "That's all I'm asking for, Little Love. That you try."

Meanwhile, across town Edward Senior walked into a small rundown warehouse by the lake. One of the men already there took his suit jacket and carefully laid it on a table in the room as Senior walked further into the room. He exuded an air of confidence as he leisurely strolled in Mike's direction. If anyone saw Senior walking, they may have thought he was out for an afternoon stroll as opposed to what he was doing at the warehouse. The slow gambit, the waiting, the anticipation all made the situation seem much more…suspenseful.

"Finally boss!" Mike called in a thankful tone as his wrists twisted, trying to get out of the restraints that were holding him to the rickety, worn and wooden chair. Eleven hours of being tied to the chair was not conducive to his back or neck as he tried to get some limited sleep. His wrists were bruised and bloody from the rope he was tied with, digging into his skin each and every time he tried to break free. "Tell these fucktards they made a mistake. I was just out having some fun with a friend and they swooped in and grabbed us both, only to bring us back here."

Edward Senior could tell Mike had no idea he had done anything wrong, let alone what that something was. Unfortunately, the actions, or inactions in this case, had signed the younger man's death certificate.

"I keep telling them they made a mistake on who they grabbed. I work for you. They must be dim wit newbie's," Mike continued spouting. "They wouldn't let me go so I could get the real guy you obviously want. Don't take it too hard on them; it was an honest mistake on their part. We're all human, of course and we make mistakes now and then."

"Of course. I just want to talk for a few moments, see if we can clear this mess up. Then I'll let you out. It's probably just a big misunderstanding. If you don't have anything to hide, you don't have to worry. This'll be over in a blink of an eye," Senior assured Mike with a fake smile, though Mike was too stupid to realize it.

Just as Ed Senior was rolling up his clean, pressed and starched sleeves to the elbows of his white dress shirt that became his uniform at work, James walked in with a box and a sack of various types of fruit. Senior continued folding with precision, paying no mind to the other people in the room. James nodded once at his boss to indicate everything was a go before he took everything over to one of the tables behind Mike and started setting up.

"What's with the fruit and blender?" Mike asked, unsure if he should be scared or relieved.

Senior just wanted to get the show on the road so he could get home. By now his youngest son had brought Bella home and he was internally seething that Mike's incompetence was causing him to miss Bella's homecoming. Just the thought of missing Bella before she undoubtedly went up to her room to sleep caused Senior to grind his teeth. He needed to make sure she was feeling at least a little better before he could take a deep, cleansing breath and relax. But he had to remind himself she was at home now and she should be safe there at least until he got home.

Shrugging the stress off his shoulders, Senior told Mike, "I figured, since we were just talking, I wouldn't mind having something refreshing. Smoothies tend to be a guilty indulgence of mine. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, they always taste amazing. What about you, Newton, would you like a smoothie too?" The elder man was banking on Newton's greed, parched throat and obligation as an employee to him, to take him up on the offer.

Mike nodded and agreed quickly, "Yeah, I'll take one." It wasn't often the boss offered Mike something and he was going to acquiesce to everything offered up. _No need to be rude, right?_

Hearing the affirmative answer, James nodded at his boss in understanding and started making a batch of smoothies while Senior pulled up another chair and sat down before Mike.

It wasn't often Senior and one of his most trusted associates pulled this form of torture, but when they did, it always worked perfectly. Only using that process once in a while kept the technique fresh, kept people guessing what Senior would do to them, kept it from being common knowledge to most. It would only work if Senior allowed the use sparingly.

Over Mike's left shoulder, Senior watched carefully as James made the blender full of smoothie. It's not that he didn't trust James, quite the opposite in fact, it all boiled down to the fact that nobody could be too careful, especially in that line of business.

James was quick to finish the batch. He poured a medium sized glass of the pinkish orange liquid and brought it over to his boss, waiting to see if it was satisfactory. Having been in this charade a few times throughout the years, James knew what would happen and took no offence of his smoothie making skills.

Taking a small sip, Senior scrunched up his nose in mock disgust before he handed the drink back to James. He shook his head and told him, "Put some more pineapple in it. It's too sweet as it is."

"Sure thing," James replied as he walked back over to the table. He set the still full glass on the opposite side of the table before he stepped back to the blender. It was imperative that they kept the two drinks apart and could tell whose was whose.

The terrified look on Mike's face was comical as Senior pulled reached into his pants pocket to pull out the critical next part of the scenario. The red Altoid box calmed Mike down considerably, knowing there wasn't anything in a small tin like that that could hurt him.

Senior pulled out a deep, blood red pod looking thing and stuck it in his mouth before he looked at Mike and proffered one of the other pods in the tin. Mike nodded like Senior knew he would so he untied Mike completely before placing the pod in the younger man's greedy, sweaty palm.

"Just pop it in your mouth and suck on it. Don't bite or you'll die," Senior lied in a warning tone. Mike looked at the quarter sized piece of plant for a brief moment before he popped it into his mouth just as his boss had done mere seconds before. Just the fact that Senior had put one in his mouth had to make it safe for Mike. He knew nothing could happen when his boss just showed him it wasn't a trick.

"What is it?" Mike asked crudely around the berry. It had a bit of a funny taste at the beginning, but turned sweet on his tongue quickly.

Closing the tin, Senior placed it back in his pocket before answering Mike's question. "It's called a miracle berry or miracle fruit, take your pick. You suck on it for a minute or two and then everything you taste after that for X amount of time will taste sweet. The time depends on how long you suck on the berry. They sometimes give tablets with this stuff to cancer patients over at the hospital so they retain their appetite. Me? I just like them for when I go somewhere and find the person cooking dinner can't cook for shit. The actual berry is more potent than the tablets. They're almost like eating chalk. I usually like James' smoothies, but I think he forgot to pick up the vanilla extract today." Senior whispered the last part conspiratorially as he leaned a little closer to Newton. Mike snickered pathetically as Senior watched James add the last ingredient to the blender mixture before he turned it on, ensuring that the contents were mixed well.

When everything was thoroughly mixed, James picked up Edward's glass from the other side of the table without changing it in any way, and walked back over to his boss. He held out the same glass with the same contents as before. Senior took the berry pod from his mouth before taking a sip. He nodded at James signaling it was 'fine' now. "Go get Newton his."

The contents of the glass James handed to Mike looked brown in color, but James was quick to assure Mike nothing was wrong. "You got the half with the most seeds. They always settle at the bottom."

Disregarding the assurance, Mike took the berry from his mouth and took a large, long sip of the smoothie to refresh himself. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before looking at his boss with a thankful grin. "So, what do we need to talk about?"

Senior took a small sip of his smoothie before he questioned, "How long have you worked for me?"

"Eighteen months," Newton replied quickly. He joined the Cullen family for the money, girls, fame, parties, illegal weapons, alcohol and drugs. Everything in the life was a perk. Newton got away with so much and knew it would be even more, the longer he was with the organization. He was under the law enforcement's radar and he was skirting certain things in the organization that, if were ever brought to life, would surely be cause for his death. But he was smart; he could continue getting away with everything he was currently doing. He was having the time of his life.

Hanging back in case Senior needed him, James kept an eye on Mike and his reactions; his movements. Senior was the boss and even though he could take care of himself and Mike had been patted down upon arriving at the warehouse, James wasn't risking his boss's life. If anything unexpected happened, James could handle it. He was loyal, quick and able to neutralize a situation almost before it began.

"Are the orders I hand out easy to follow?" Edward inquired with another small sip of his own smoothie.

"Absolutely, they're ϋber easy to follow. And I don't get too many, so that's a plus. More time for me to party," Mike explained happily. He was happy he didn't have to do much, except maybe baby sit that one girl in the hospital, the vegetable that finally woke up. But that was a minor thing because Edward Junior was always with the girl, and sometimes there were additional family visiting. Even that wasn't too much of a job because it was easy to sneak away and flirt with the nurses on duty. One of the nurses, Jessica Stanley, snuck him into an on call room on multiple occasions that day. He was one happy, satiated man. He was hoping to have a repeat performance last night when he took her out to a hip, local night club, but was grabbed before they got there. But no matter, there would always be a second chance that night once the whole mess was taken care of. He was sure of that.

Senior's fingers started tapping on the arm of his chair and asked, "Do you always follow my orders, exactly how I give them?"

"Yeah, of course," Mike answered quickly. Too quickly. He took another large gulp of the smoothie, hoping to further the chat along. Hoping that when he ended the drink, Senior would end the questions and he could go. He needed to get back to the club scene to pick up a nice looking chick and nail her when he took her home.

"Oh, really?" Senior inquired, already knowing the answers to the questions he was asking. He would never ask a question he didn't already know the answer to. He wanted to see just how truthful people would be with him. Senior picked that trait up from his father, when he was still alive, many years ago. A trait that had come in extremely handy on many different occasions.

"Yeah. Well, I mean, at the hospital I did what you told me to do. I may have stepped away for a few minutes here and there. One of the nurses was such a freak in the bed. But yeah. I followed your orders. Besides, it's not like Junior wasn't in there with her. He would have taken care of the vegetable if she needed it."

The vein in Senior's forehead and the vein in his neck bulged, dangerously close to popping. Across the room, James noticed the difference in his boss's attitude immediately. He could tell Senior was pissed and wanted to hit something, but refrained. For the time being.

Truth be told, James wanted to hit something too – preferably Mike. Baby Bell was the one bright light in his life at the moment and here Mike was talking badly about her. He didn't take too kindly to that sort of thing.

Oblivious to the change in the man sitting across from him and the atmosphere in the room, Mike drank the last of his smoothie in one gulp. He licked grotesquely at the dregs on the side of the glass that his pudgy little tongue could reach before he sighed loudly in contentment and smacked his lips annoyingly.

"We should do this more often," Mike told them, twisting his body to look back at James. The sudden pain ripped through his throat and stomach as he twisted. He grabbed at his abdomen in an attempt to soothe the agony, but he had no idea that he didn't stand a chance. His wide, baby blue, all American eyes looked to Senior, terrified at the debilitating pain and begging silently for whatever help he could get from the man.

Senior sat there in the chair before Mike and watched calmly. He took another small sip of his drink before he revealed, "That "vegetable", as you so crudely called her, is a wonderful, vibrant, smart young woman. My youngest is infatuated with her. Because of your actions, she was subjected to the likes of Jacob Black. No one should have to deal with him, let alone in her wounded state. She's like a daughter to me; a daughter I never had and because of you, I almost lost her to this life. I won't lose her. She's too good to be subjected to jail or prison. I told you to protect her at any and all costs, yet you blatantly disregarded those orders to get a piece of ass. Now you're suffering the consequences."

The calm of Senior's voice was eerie, even to James. He knew in that moment that if anyone _ever_ messed with Bella, there would be hell to pay. Here was a man that would protect his hurting 'daughter' by any and all means necessary. James never wanted to be on the other end of that anger because when Senior became this angry, he was calm. Too calm. The calm meant everyone around needed to duck and cover. The calm meant he was beyond any and all reason where the matter was concerned.

"The best thing about these little miracles," Senior told Mike offhandedly as he patted the pocket that held the tin of fruit, "Is that with one little pod, it can alter your taste buds so dramatically, you won't be able to taste even harsh, corrosive chemicals. Normally, when you taste the chemicals, you immediately gag and throw them up, trying to purge them from your system. However, with altered taste buds, like your own currently are, you can ingest enormous amounts of lethal toxins and not even know it. By the time you realize it, it's already too late, they're eating their way through your internal organs and before long you're going to keel over. The body can handle so much, but ingesting chemicals in large quantities is not something a person can just walk away from."

Mike started coughing as the chemicals James put in his smoothie corroded away his stomach and reached his lungs. Before long his coughing was getting louder as he started choking on the soup his internal organs were turning into. Blood started pouring from his mouth as he wheezed and tried not to choke on his own organs that had turned to soup.

"As for disregarding my orders," Senior continued talking like it was a conversation about the weather, "don't worry about it. You have more important things to worry about at the moment, like how you'll be dead in less than, oh, I'd say two minutes now. That's the last time I let you put Bella in danger of getting hurt, either physically or emotionally. I don't stand for that shit. One of our values is that we stand for the little guy; we stand for the innocent, the weak, and the victims. You have not shown one iota of that value since you became a part of this family."

Standing, Senior set his smoothie glass down on the seat of the chair he had just vacated, and retrieved his coat and turned to James. "Have Crowley deal with the woman. I'll use it as a test of sorts for him. He can choose his own brand of punishment for her; just tell him not to hurt her physically. I only trust you to dispose of Mike's body," Senior told James as he slipped on his suit jacket. "I'm going home. I want to see how she's doing. Feel free to come by later if you want to visit her. I'm sure she'd like to see you again. For some reason, she likes your scraggly ass."

"Everything will be taken care of, sir. Go see your family. I'll be by later to see about Baby Bell," James assured his boss. Senior didn't need James' assurances though. He knew that, besides his own sons, James was the best man in the family to get a job done. James was Senior's right hand man and there was a reason for that.

Waking up from a much needed nap, Bella was immediately questioned by the soft, velvety voice of her protector. "What would you like to eat, Little Love?" Edward asked from his perch next to her as he brushed his hand across the soft skin of her cheek and then cupped her jaw gently. He leaned forward in his seat and allowed his lips to feather across her forehead and temple before sitting back.

The doctor had told them she needed to eat much smaller meals but each more often now that she could only absorb so many nutrients at one time. Edward needed to make sure Bella ate at least five times a day now and he was going to make certain she did just that. He wanted to make ensure she was well taken care of and healthy.

Not in the mood for food, Bella shrugged helplessly as she sat up against the pillows propped against the headboard. She wasn't hungry in the least, but she knew she needed to eat something. Not only to appease her overly protective… husband, but also to get better.

That word – husband – was so strange, even thinking it about Edward in her mind. How could someone like him want anything to do with her? She was plain, nothing special and completely broken. Granted, she was trying to get better, however it seemed like the drive by had reversed all her hard work of moving forward.

Then there was Edward. While Bella had scars littering all over her body, he was perfect. Even his slight imperfections - the scar under his chin, the chaotic hair that always stuck up in random directions, the crooked smile - they all made him better. Ironically, his imperfections made him perfect.

By the slight grimace on her face, and the wrinkle between her brows, Edward knew Bella was being hard on herself about something. He leaned down and quickly kissed her down turned lips, surprising her with the unexpected touch, pulling her out of the her own thoughts. "What are you thinking about so hard over there, Little Love?"

Shaking her head, Bella replied, "I'm just wondering how you can like me, let alone love me. You're perfect - at everything; and I'm a disaster. You deserve better," Bella replied dejectedly.

Edward reached up, ignoring her slight flinch, and tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear as he explained. "Bella. You've got to stop this self deprecation. It's not good for you. I don't like hearing you doubt yourself and put yourself down."

"How? How can I stop when we both know it's true?" She asked as tears leaked from her eyes. Beyond tired, Bella realized that's why she was so emotional and knew she would have to take a long, uninterrupted sleep before it got any better.

The sigh that escaped Edward's throat was one of frustration and disbelief. Gently cupping Bella's face in his hands, Edward looked straight into Bella's chocolate eyes. He disregarded the sadness, confusion and depression, instead looking for the love he knew was there. "Bella, I am going to keep saying all this until you finally believe it. I love you. I cherish you. I wouldn't be able to breathe if you ever left. You're beautiful, despite all of your scars, both emotional and physical. Why are you so hard on yourself all the time?"

"Because I'm constantly screwing up one way or another," Bella told him with a whisper, hiding her eyes from him. "I'm constantly causing problems with you and your family-"

Hooking his finger under her chin, Edward pulled her face up gently so he could look into her eyes again. He smiled sadly at her, knowing Bella wasn't doing it intentionally. It was the way she grew up with her aunt and uncle; the way they were to her. Knowing it was the asses she grew up with who had drilled these lies into her mind through the years, he was able to keep his patience and try and explain it to her.

"Listen to me, Little Love. Are you listening?" he asked to make sure she was truly listening to him and his words.

She nodded, causing that same silky smooth patch of hair to fall in her face again, creating a curtain between them. Edward gently moved it and tucked it back behind her ear. "When I say 'I love you,' it means that I accept you for the person that you are and that I do not wish to change you into someone else. It means that I do not expect perfection from you - just as you don't expect it from me. It means that I will love you and stand by you even through the worst of times. It means loving you when you're in a bad mood or too tired to do the things I want to do. It means loving you when you're down – not just when you're fun to be with. 'I love you' means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them – asking only that in return you don't judge me for mine. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love you enough not to let go. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, wanting and needing you constantly, and hoping that you feel the same for me. That's what I mean each and every time I tell you 'I love you.' You're it for me, Bella. I hope I'm it for you too."

Bella saw the hope swirling in his eyes, and she was quick to reassure him as she covered Edward's hand on her cheek, holding it to her skin. His hand was warm and strangely soft for all the manual labor. The hands were the hands of a pianist who moisturized each night, thought she never saw Edward do so. "You are, Edward. You're it for me too. I just wish I was better for you."

"You're perfect for me, Bella," Edward promised. "You're smart and resourceful. You have a beautiful attitude towards people which causes everybody in sight to smile despite their losses. You are a rare flower that only blooms once in a life time. Most people pass by, seeing only the leaves but when you finally get the proper attention and you _do_ bloom, all who see the vibrant colors and plain good in you, well, it changes them for the rest of their lives. You have a rare gift of joy that you give to people. You change them for the better. You've changed me for the better. I used to be an emo, brooding, crusty ass who didn't know what a smile or true happiness was. Then you stumbled into my life and everything changed and I couldn't be happier about it. Besides, when you agreed to marry me, I believe I agreed to all your insecurities, obsessions, immaturity, the need to feel love and protected, all of your over active emotions, and your completely false claim that you were too clingy. I agreed to your troubled past, hopes, dreams and romance. I fell in love with you, which included your self hate, your imperfections, which I love by the way, and your perceptions. Bella, I agreed to all of that because I love you. But I agreed to it because the good in you outweighs the bad. I know you may think it impossible, but I love you with all my heart. You can't push me away. I won't let you. I love you too much to let that happen."

"But why?" Bella interrupted, still not understanding. She was so confused. She could tell he loved her, but for the life of her, she couldn't understand why. She had always wondered why he was so taken with her. She was broken and barely surviving and yet he gave her his heart. What really got her was he gave her his heart willingly.

Edward didn't know how else to try and express how much she meant to hm. Everything made sense when he was with her. He thought he sounded cliché when he thought the sun shone brighter, the grass and leaves were greener and the sky bluer. The way he perceived the world was different because she had the smile on her face to make it happier.

Smiling brightly, Edward leaned in and kissed her lips chastely. "You're smart. You make me think about things differently. You're funny. You make me smile and laugh, even at the stupidest things. You're inquisitive. You ask things nobody else would have thought of asking. You're brave beyond all reason. You ask things others are too scared to ask. I could sit her all day and continue. Most of it would be cliché, but all of it would be true. The easiest way I can sum it up would be: you're the other part of my soul. We fit together perfectly. When we're apart, it feels like my chest is going to implode. I'm constantly thinking of you and worrying if you'll be all right until I get back to you. When I'm with you, I feel like I've finally found my place in this world, my home. You take my breath away when you look at me and my entire world melts when you smile my way. That is what I live for each day - making you happy. I love you Bella, with all my heart, and nothing could ever change that. Please understand that," Edward whispered.

Edward had been completely honest when he promised to tell her those words until she believed them. Even after, he knew he'd probably continue saying them. "Now, dry your eyes, Little Love. It kills me to see you crying."

"I'm sorry I'm being like this. I don't know-" Bella started to try and explain. She didn't know what she was thinking or how to explain her feelings. Expressing herself had never been one of her strong suits and the first time she really wanted to, she couldn't. She was so out of practice with the whole touchy-feely thing. So used to being numb, she didn't know how to articulate just what she was feeling; she hadn't had enough time to determine what each of her feelings were.

Thumbs softly brushed beneath her watery eyes to rid her of the wetness causing Edward's heart to lurch as he shushed her tenderly. The warm, delicate skin under his hands was the most fragile thing in the world to him; the most precious. He never liked to see her hurt. Anything that upset Bella caused him to physically hurt.

"I feel that way too," Bella whispered, trying to reassure Edward she felt that strongly about him in return. She wasn't sure he knew that or not, but she wanted him to know. The blinding smile on his face told her that her words were gratefully accepted.

Edward gently patted her thigh. "I know. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me."

"A smoothie sounds good right now," Bella conceded shyly, answering the question that started it all. She gave him a rueful smile, hoping it wasn't too much problem for him to get the thing she was craving.

Unexpectedly, Edward barked out a loud, belly laugh as he fell back on the bed. Bella smiled at the unusual reaction from him, especially if the topic was about food. _What was so funny about wanting a smoothie?_

"Okay," he responded once he got his laughing under control a few moments later. "Okay. I'll go get you one. Sorry, that was just completely unexpected."

"Oh."

"How about you take your pain medication while I'm down there? When I come back you can eat, then go back to sleep. I can see you're tired still," Edward suggested as he ran his hand over her hair.

Nodding, Bella complied with his proposition as she reached over to the nightstand. Emmett had returned earlier while Bella was still napping, leaving the medications next to the bed for her. Edward was quick to reach over and grab the pills, divvying them out to Bella's hand and reaching over to his nightstand for a bottle of water. Bella quickly popped the pills before giving him the bottle back.

As he stood, he patted her thigh again before he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, placed the water bottle on her nightstand and left to go try and make a smoothie for his young, injured, bride. He had never made a smoothie before, but he was going to learn, damn-it. He wanted to do something nice for his girl. _It couldn't be that difficult, right?_

Bella lay down on the bed from her sitting position and wrapped her arms around Edward's pillow. The pain medication she was on made her loopy and extremely sleepy. It was better to lie down when she took the pills instead trying to get situated once they started to take effect.

Unfortunately, Bella was just at the precipice of falling into unconsciousness when one of the bedroom doors creaked open. She smiled and mumbled out, "Did you forget something, Edward?"

When there was no response, Bella turned her head to the doorway, expecting to see Edward, but almost jumped when she saw Elizabeth standing there. She looked impeccable with her fancy white silk blouse and a pastel blue colored skirt like all the socialites wore. The string of pearls around her neck glinted in the light of the room when she moved a step towards the bed.

Even with her clothing, hair and makeup faultless, there was something about the way she was holding herself that made Bella nervous. She was used to her mother-in-law standing ram-rod straight with an air of composure and confidence, however the woman standing in front of her held none of her usual demeanor.

The elder woman pointed to the edge of the bed nervously, silently asking Bella if it was all right with her if she sat down there. Nervously, Bella nodded, keeping her eyes glued to every little movement Elizabeth made as she stepped closer and eventually sat on the edge of the opposite side of the bed.

"I'm sorry to just intrude like this," Elizabeth started as she ran her hand over her strand of pearls. She looked up at Bella and sighed. "I was hoping we could talk for a moment."

Nodding, Bella answered, "That's fine by me, but please don't hold anything I say against me, and I'm sorry if I fall asleep while one of us is talking. I just took my pain pills and they knock me out pretty good."

"Why didn't you come and tell me about the marriage when it first happened?" Elizabeth asked, bluntly and straight to the point. The hurt she was feeling at being completely in the dark was carefully hidden so the young Bella couldn't use that weakness against her. "Why did you go along with it? Is it because we have money?"

"I didn't know about it until two or three weeks after it all happened. They didn't tell me anything and they didn't ask me if it's what I wanted. I was given no choice in the matter." Bella didn't like the point of contention between Edward's mother and her. She desperately wanted to get it over with, dealt with and put behind them. But on the same note, it all depended on Elizabeth and what tone and attitude she was going to use.

Elizabeth had already come across as confrontational and defensive in just the first question. If she didn't keep herself in check Bella was going to ask her to leave until she could get herself under control. Bella did not need the stress of a confrontation at the moment, nor did she appreciate the drama all of this was causing.

Eyeing her, Elizabeth asked, "They?"

Nodding, Bella replied, "They. Your husband and mine. I'm only seventeen, Elizabeth. Even if I had wanted to marry Edward, I would have needed a guardian's signature. I can only assume that's what your husband dealt with somehow. By the time I had gotten here, and met your family, my aunt and uncle were already dead. Edward explained everything two weeks later when he finally told me we were married. I had nothing to do with any of it."

Truth rang from every word as Bella calmly explained how Edward and she came to be married. Surprised at her husband's actions and appalled that neither he nor her youngest son had told her sooner, Elizabeth shook her head disappointedly. She had taught them over the years that they shouldn't try hiding anything from her.

"When you found out about it, why didn't you come tell me? He's my son. I deserve to know everything that's going on in his life." Elizabeth's tone and volume was steadily rising at the young girl. That she had been excluded from these decisions had been appalling neglectful, she felt. Elizabeth was Edward's mother, and she felt she needed to know everything that had to do with her son to help him make good choices since he didn't know what he was doing.

Fed up with Elizabeth's superior, haughty, condescending attitude all the time, Bella immediately jumped on the problem. Her eyes narrowed as Elizabeth spoke of having complete control over her son - the only son that, until Bella arrived five months prior, Elizabeth could even partially control and manipulate.

"Don't you even dare think about trying to pin this entire situation on Edward or me. Yes, we got married. Yes, only a few people were in the know and yes, we are trying to make it work. But we've all made mistakes here. Edward's mistake was that he didn't tell you like everyone knew he should. Your husband's mistake was not letting me know even though it was a major decision that altered the rest of my life. My mistake was not embracing everything sooner. But you, Elizabeth, have made the most heinous mistakes of us all."

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth interrupted, absolutely horrified this girl would try and turn everything back on her. She had done nothing wrong. Opening her mouth to rebuke Bella, Elizabeth didn't even get the first word out before Bella continued on.

"Do not interrupt me when I am speaking. I at least gave you the common courtesy to finish before I spoke. The least you could do is afford me the same."

Elizabeth's mouth snapped shut quickly with an audible pop. The elder woman didn't know what to do or say. The only person that had the guts enough to stand up to her like that was her husband. Some of the others would say some snide comments here and there, but never head on and never as forcefully as Bella was.

Once Bella realized Elizabeth wasn't going to say anything to interrupt again, she continued. "Edward should have told you earlier about our marriage, however with the way you are, I'm not entirely shocked he didn't. You are a manipulative control freak that needs everything to go her way, or otherwise you pick and bitch until it does. All of your controlling ways are pushing everyone away. Nobody wants to tell you anything because if, God forbid, they are happy, you get involved and start manipulating things and destroy it. No one wants to be around you. Everything has to be your way no matter who you hurt in the process. Ultimately, I feel sorry for you. If you keep going like you are, you're going to lose everyone and everything. My mother always said happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be a bitch. But don't think you know what's best for those around you. Don't make or try to make decisions for others. They'll just resent you for it. Quit being a stuck up bitch that thinks she's better than everyone else."

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me, young lady. I am Edward's mother. I know what's best for my son! You don't! You are all wrong for him. He needs a civilized, classy woman, not some degenerate, whore of a girl. Divorce him if you know what's best for yourself."

"This is what I'm talking about, Elizabeth," Bella replied exasperated. She didn't even give the threat at the end of Elizabeth's diatribe any credence. She knew her mother-in-law would never go through with it. Both Edwards would prevent her from doing anything. "You try and control everyone's life. Maybe I'm not what's best for Edward, but that's not your decision to make. He is twenty five years old. He's not a child. You need to stop treating him like he is. As for what your son "needs", Bella replied with finger air quotes to show just how irritated she was. "If you're still implying Edward and Tanya are perfect for one another, you're completely daft in the head. Tanya's a little girl trying to play pretend and doing a piss poor job if you ask me. She's a bitch with as much intelligence as a house plant and as much class as a dog licking its balls. Besides, Edward wants me, not her. I may be young, I may be temperamental, and I may be immature at times, but he wants me because I am young, temperamental and immature. At least I'll grow out of it in a few years. What's Tanya's excuse? For that matter, what's yours?"

"Well, I never!" Elizabeth spouted off feeling completely insulted.

"Listen," Bella started, though her words were beginning to slur as the medications kicked in, "just stay away from Edward and me and we'll stay away from you. I love him and he loves me. We may have come to be in a strange set of circumstances, but we work well together. He makes me feel safe and cared for. He makes me feel wanted, despite all my flaws and issues. He makes me feel special and I can only hope I make him feel the same. He's so good and perfect. I can only hope I can be half the person he is."

Elizabeth watched the twinkle in Bella's eyes as she spoke about her youngest and couldn't help but come to the realization that Edward was her forever. She felt about Edward as Elizabeth felt about Edward Senior. The pure, unadulterated love shining through her eyes was as unwavering and true as Elizabeth had ever seen. She knew she wouldn't ever be able to make Bella leave Edward for any reason and she knew Edward probably felt the same about her. It was like fighting a losing battle. She sighed and ran her hand over her tight, perfect looking bun. _So much for getting the best of the best for Edward like he deserved._

Senior discarded his suit jacket, throwing it to the kitchen table. However, his aim was short and it crumpled to the floor in a charcoal heap. One of the help would be by later to deal with it. He desperately wanted to see how Bella was and how she had settled back into the apartment so far.

The sound of the blender, combined with raised, bickering voices floating from the kitchen didn't even garner a glance, given that his main concern was a few floors up. He didn't want to get involved in anything that would stall him from his goal.

Even though Senior was not as young as he used to be, he quickly rushed up the three flights of stairs to the fourth floor before he made his way over to the nearest bedroom door that allowed entrance to Edward and Bella's shared bedroom.

The door opened silently, ensuring he was quiet so as not to wake Bella if she was sleeping. However, what he heard made him freeze in his spot, hidden as he was by the privacy wall which blocked the immediate view of the bed from the doorway.

"What kind of music do you normally listen to?" his wife nervously asked the sickly girl.

There was a shuffling of bed sheets before he heard Bella respond. "Country mostly, but I do listen to a lot of classical as well. Strange mixture, I know, but that's what I grew up with."

Immediately, Senior heard the exhaustion thick in her voice. He was loathe to interrupt though because he didn't know what brought on the awkward bonding session, nor did he want to end it if it meant his wife and daughter-in-law would work out their differences. The prospect of having less bickering in the house, mostly on Elizabeth's part, was the best incentive he could ever have. Less stress was good for everyone involved.

Mentally, Senior could picture Bella shrug her shoulders slightly before she spoke. That girl loved to talk with her hands when she was excited or passionate about something. The small, crooked smile on Senior's lips was almost a mirror image of his son's when he thought about Bella animated and talking about something so thrilling to her.

"What was your favorite subject in school?" Elizabeth questioned, trying again to start a conversation.

A dainty throat cleared softly before a slurping noise sounded throughout the room and Bella responded. "Well, I really liked English class, the creative writing section, but I also liked the genetics section of biology…"

"You like to write?" Elizabeth asked desperately, trying to grasp at something to make the conversation less awkward.

"Absolutely." The pep in Bella's voice made Senior smile more broadly. He hadn't known that about the teenager. "When I was stressed, it was one of the things that allowed me to relax. I could get lost in writing, go somewhere amazing and fantastical and not have to worry about that was happening in my real life. It was amazing just how lost I could get in a happy wonderland."

There was a bit more rustling of the bed sheets before Elizabeth asked, "What did you like to write?"

"Anything and everything. As long as it got me out of the world I was in, I didn't care," Bella responded sounding nervous about the one aspect of her life that she hadn't told anyone about. It was personal to her and she didn't want Elizabeth laughing at her.

"Oh, well, um…maybe you should get some rest. You're sounding awfully tired. We can maybe continue this later."

"All right," Bella mumbled sleepily through a yawn. Truth be told, Bella wasn't all that upset over Elizabeth leaving. She had had enough of the shrew for the day and had been hoping she would leave soon. Until Elizabeth's attitude changed, Bella would avoid her at all costs; Edward already was.

Elizabeth patted Bella's leg awkwardly before she stood and quickly vacated the room, unknowingly exiting through the door not currently blocked by Edward Senior – fortunately for him. Bella sighed in relief of not having to deal with her impossible mother-in-law anymore. When she was by herself she didn't have to keep her tongue in check or watch every movement the other person made.

Relaxing back into the pillow, Bella allowed her eyes to fall closed as the medications finally took control of her and pushed her into a deep sleep.

Soundlessly, Senior stepped around the privacy wall into the bed area of Edward and Bella's bedroom and immediately saw a peaceful, relaxed, slumbering Bella. The entire conversation between her and his wife had to have been taxing to say the least. He smiled at the young woman as he walked around to her side and sat down next to her on the bed. He watched the woman who had stolen everyone's heart like a father who would slip into his daughter's room at night to watch over her and make sure she was protected. Given the way she was laying - with the bedspread pulled up to her chin and her hands clasped under her cheek - she was the epitome of the little girl he was checking on.

There was a patch of hair that fell into her face that he quickly brushed behind her onto the pillow. A small, sweet smile ghosted her lips as she breathed in deeply. She was strong, there was no doubt about that, but he found himself wondering at what point she was going to be pushed past that point and completely shatter. He hoped whatever it was, whenever it was, someone - whether it was him, his youngest son, or someone else they trusted - would be able to help her through everything and make her stronger in the long run. Bella was the daughter he never had and he didn't like to see her hurting.

One of the bedroom doors opened before a very flustered Edward appeared, holding a ghastly off green smoothie in his hand a sheepish smile on his face. He ran a hand through his mussed hair when he saw his father sitting with Bella.

"I didn't think it would take that long," Edward mumbled.

With one look at the concoction in Edward's hands, Senior decided, "I think I'm going to wait out in the hallway while she eats. The thought of a smoothie is making my stomach turn at the moment." Senior stood before placing a gentle kiss on Bella's upturned cheek and walking out of the room.

The scene in the hallway would have been comical if it wasn't so pathetic.

Sculpicia was almost twenty feet from Edward and Bella's bedroom door, her way blocked by Rose and Emmett. Emmett was behind Rose, holding her waist to restrain her while Rose flailed in an effort to attack the sneering Sculpicia. Alice and Esme stood off to the side, out of everyone's way.

None of the hallway's occupants had noticed Senior standing there so he took advantage of their ignorance and listened to what they were fighting about this time.

"She'll never be part of this family. She's just a pawn in Senior's games. He pushed the girl off on Edward and forced him to pretend to love her until her job is done. When he no longer needs the brat, he'll dispose of her. He'll be begging Tanya to come back then. Once she's dead and gone, Tanya will claim her rightful spot as Edward's wife. All of you are so clueless. He's pretending to love her! She's nothing! Tanya is family! That's her spot the little gold digger stole! She was supposed to marry Edward. That was always supposed to be her. Tanya's the pretty one. Tanya's the smart one. Tanya knows how to keep Edward interested. This little bitch isn't any of that! She's got you all so blinded to her actual, true self," Sculpicia argued haughtily as if she knew exactly what was going on.

"You're the confused one. You're the one who has deluded herself into thinking Edward belongs with Tanya. You're the blinded one. Tanya only looks out for number one. If push comes to shove, she'll leave you, her so called best friend, high and dry so she can get ahead in life. You choose not to see how she really is," Rose growled back. She looked like a ferocious pit bull trying to protect her pup.

Senior realized that's exactly what Rose was trying to do. Bella was her pup and something Sculpicia said or did long before he came out of the bedroom set her off into a protective momma mode.

"She should have died in the drive by!" Sculpicia screamed. "She doesn't deserve the title of Mrs. Edward Cullen! Tanya does! She's waited so long. She's worked so hard for that title and that little tramp just waltzes on in and steals it right out from under her nose!" Sculpicia screamed into the deathly silent hallway. Her face was puce colored as she loudly tried to campaign as to why her best friend was better for the position of Edward's wife. She just wanted to be able to call Tanya her sister.

Everyone in the hallway stood there, staring at Sculpicia, unmoving and barely daring to breathe. _How could she say Bella should have died in the drive by? Only a selfish, manipulative, heartless person could ever wish that on anyone. And all to get her best friend, who no one could feasibly stand, into the spot of Edward's wife? How could she be so cold and ruthless?_

The calm in his voice sent shivers through everyone's spine. "And pray-tell, why should Bella have died in the shoot out?" Senior questioned, his cold, steely eyes fixated on his heinous daughter-in-law.

Shocked at Senior's presence, Sculpicia stumbled over her explanation. "Well, um, sh-she doesn't belong here. She's not good enough to be called a Cullen. She comes from a different world and will never fit in no matter how hard she tries and no matter what she does. Tanya comes from our world. She understands what is expected of her. She knows how to fit in. She belongs in our family she's the one who deserves the Cullen last name. She'd be a perfect fit, a perfect addition to the family."

Checking his watch, Senior shook his head in disappointment and frustration before telling her, "Well, it's a good thing I didn't leave that decision up to you, then. Bella is perfect for this family, in case you haven't seen. It seems like the only people who can't get that through their heads are you and my wife. I believe even Elizabeth has come to the conclusion that Bella is making this family better. Now, end of discussion." His tone left little room for debate, but unfortunately, not everyone understood.

Sculpicia opened her mouth to argue some more when Senior interrupted, looking at his watch once more. "The next person to mention Tanya Denali in any way, shape or form, will be out on the street without a single possession to their name. Do I make myself clear?"

When most of them nodded in understanding, Senior turned his attention over to Sculpicia and arched an eyebrow, tempting her to disobey hm. The snarl on her face was unnecessary. Senior knew Sculpicia had more to say on the subject, but at the same time, she didn't want to be thrown to the sidewalk. Senior watched, wondering which side of her would win.

Finally, Sculpicia nodded curtly once with a disgusted look on her face and spun around to depart. Her quick departure was only halted for a brief moment when Rose yelled out, "Keep on walkin' skank!"

Senior saw Rose nod once in satisfaction as James rounded the corner so quickly Senior thought someone was coming after his ass with a white hot cattle poker.

"Boss. Excuse me for interrupting, but I just got an update from one of the guys searching for Marcus. They're closing in on him. They think they know where he's holed up."

Ears perked, Senior nodded as he motioned to both Emmett and James to follow him to his office where they could speak candidly about the situation without the threat of other staff overhearing. Senior would need access to his computer and phone while they discussed a plan to extract Marcus from his current location. They needed to pay him back for some of the things he had done to their family throughout the months.

Meanwhile, back down the hall in the bedroom, Edward had been successful in waking Bella up to eat her smoothie. While she was drinking, he explained bashfully, with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, that Esme had to help him make it and that the rest of it was stored in the refrigerator for later. He went on to explain that he was able to sneak in some iron rich food like spinach along with other vitamin and mineral rich foods like broccoli to make it healthy and well balanced, though it didn't taste like they were included. Like most mothers trying to sneak the healthy stuff into their children's diet, Edward wanted to make sure she got all the nutrients Bella needed. It wasn't like she would be able to taste them over the overpowering tartness of all the fruit smothering the vegetables taste.

When Bella had drunk as much as her small stomach would allow, she handed the glass to Edward to set down on the nearby nightstand and lay back with her eyes closed. He sat down next to Bella and just watched her for a long moment.

Feeling his eyes on her, Bella asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chuckling, Edward moved that pesky patch of hair that kept falling into her eyes out and tucked it behind her ear again. "Looking at you like what? You don't even have your eyes open. How can you tell how I'm looking at you?"

Bella smiled softly. "Like you're doing right now. Like you don't know what to do next."

"Oh. You caught me," Edward teased, though she was right. He often got so lost in her that he wouldn't know what to do. What was alright? What was pushing Bella too far? Was it to fast? What would she be okay with? Usually, up until that moment, he was able to pull himself out of the funk before she caught him.

"Get under here. I need someone to snuggle with me. I'm feeling awfully lonely." Bella held the comforter up so he would crawl in behind her. It was an open invitation to him.

The bright smile lit up Edward's face. She was initiating some physical contact. She had told him what she needed. He was glad to do as she asked of him.

As he curled himself around her small body from behind, he could feel himself hoping for improvements to their physical relationship. He was hopeful the shooting hadn't completely wiped away all her positive progress.

"I love you, Edward," Bella sighed, bringing his arm around her waist and pulling him in closer to her body.

Edward's nose was buried in her sweet, strawberry smelling hair. He pulled her in closer to him as he whispered, "I love you too, Little Love."

Silence swept through the mid afternoon soaked bedroom until Edward was sure Bella had slipped into slumber. He was just on the brink as well, close to falling over the precipice, when he heard Bella's sweet voice whisper, "You can't love me nearly as much as I love you."

Soon after that, they were both dreaming of the other as the long shadows of sunset danced across the dreary grey color of the city outside. They still had a lot to talk about, yet like many times before, they silently agreed to put it off as long as they could and revel in the moment for just a little bit longer. The sun snuck through the gap at the edge of the one set of flimsy curtains, reaching towards the sleeping couple. Had the sunlight reached far enough across the room, it would have surely kept the pair awake. But like anything and everything that would come to disrupt their lives, the sun came up short, unable to touch the sleeping pair.

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><p><strong>AN: Please give a warm welcome to TwiSNFan for being my angle in disguise. She makes it all legible and possible, so if you have a free moment, go give some love to her. She deserves it!**

**It has been brought to my attention that Gary, where the dock and warehouse is, is actually located in**  
><strong>Indiana. I thought I did my homework before actually specifying a place; however, it does not matter where it is actually located, since the FBI will not be included in this story, at least to my knowledge. (The characters may change that later on without telling me first.)<strong>

**Please leave a review if you could. I love hearing what you guys think is good, what needs help and all your suggestions and theories. This is a learning experience for me, so constructive criticism is most welcome, but don't leave a nasty review just to be mean. That helps no one. No one learns when that happens.**

**Yes, I have majorly failed with the updates lately, however, no matter what's going on in my life, no matter how hectic it has become, no matter what I'm feeling or how much I have been running around, I write. Lately, it's to put a smile on all of your faces. I know what it's like to have a story you absolutely love update. Those emails in my inbox are beautiful. But don't for one second think that just because I haven't updated in a timely manner, that I have abandoned this story. Unfortunately, my family takes precedence over this. Thank you for the interest in the story, but please, learn how not to come across as rude. The way you say things can make all the difference.**

**I'll paraphrase what my beta so eloquently said in her last email to me. If you want a good product, you need to be patient. These things take time.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Isn't it nice we live in a world where everyone has their own opinion?**

**It's a short chapter, sorry. The characters just didn't want to talk to me this time. Marcus hates me. Blame him.**

**I don't own Twilight, that honor goes to SM.**

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><p>Some say it all started generations before and just like the Hatfield's and McCoy's, no one knew just how the feud between the two families began. Some would say it was when Edward Cullen Senior's great (to the power of seven) grandfather allowed his daughter, Lily Volturi, to marry an immigrated Irishman by the name of Regan Cullen before turning the family business over to Regan instead of his own son, Alphonse.<p>

Yet others believed it was a land feud generations before, back in the homeland of Italy that the Cullens ultimately won, leaving a sour taste in the Volturi's mouths when they didn't receive anything in return.

Either way, after that fateful point in history, no matter what occurred, the two families went their own way, always trying to take for themselves what the other had. The Volturis were notorious for trying to best everyone.

Then generations later, a man was born to the Cullens who couldn't understand why the two families were constantly fighting. When he inherited the business, he took the highroad, allowing the Volturis to live in the same city with what they had obtained over time. He didn't want any issues, any problems, anything the Volturis had. He figured he could leave them be unless they provoked him first. Wanting the ridiculous feud to be over, he was all for stepping back and letting bygones be bygones.

Through the years of Edward Senior's life he noticed the toll it took on his father's life. He saw the hardening of his eyes and the gruff, no nonsense attitude and the 'don't mess with me' aura that he portrayed and started mirroring him. Senior never understood just how much time or energy his father, Alexander, put into the business and the Volturis until he took over the business from his father when he died. He was twenty five and already had four children with another on the way when he realized just how much stress and worry this business entailed. By then it was too late and he couldn't step down.

As the years went by, he noticed that the business had the same effect on him as it had on his father. He was frowning, always trying to stay one step ahead, always worried about his family and concerned about what the Volturis would do next. He never had a moment to just sit down be alone with his thoughts. He always had to be on guard and ready to fight back if need be.

Unfortunately, feeling shorted in his holdings, and entitled to the fear the Cullen's name provoked, Marcus Volturis took it upon himself to take what he thought was rightfully his. Entitlement is a nasty quality that makes people stupid who then do stupid things to get what they thought was intended to be theirs.

Through the last eighteen years - since he took over for his father when his elder brother, Casius moved out west – Marcus Volturi had made it his mission to hijack shipments, kill anyone associated with the Cullens and simply take over the city while anyone against him -mainly the Cullen's associates to date - were sent to their graves. So far, he hadn't been successful in putting any of the Cullens six feet under, but not for lack of trying. Chicago was his city; Illinois was his state and the northern part of the country was his turf, his playground. He was determined to make sure they stayed his.

Before long, everyone would know there was a new man to please. They would quickly learn there would be no more hand outs, no one would be safe and anyone that crossed Marcus, no matter how small the infraction, would wind up taking a nice, long nap with the fishes. No one was off limits with Marcus. Men, women, elderly, and the young- no one was exempt. No one was safe.

Marcus and Casius were born to a Sergio and Valentine Volturi and grew up in an every-man-for-himself kind of environment. The brothers fought over anything and everything; whether they wanted it, needed it, or not. Food was the worst subject and it would never be a 'civil fight,' if you could ever call a fight civil. It was always a knock out, blood drawing fight between the two of them.

Though Valentine tried to teach her boys how to be a gentlemen and how to get far in the world, her husband poisoned their minds with his way of thinking and his way of parenting. She could have done a million good things to try and teach them, but one bad wiped all that away, not unlike it does in every aspect of life.

In late high school everything hit the fan at home. Fed up with her husband's piss poor attitude about everything, Valentine tried to take the boys and leave one day while Sergio was supposedly at work. There was still a chance she could save them, she just needed to get them away from their father so she could try and reeducate them in proper ways.

The three of them hadn't gotten far when Sergio caught up with them and dragged them all home again to their three bedroom place. It may have had holes in the walls where their father had punched through the plaster. Though the family had money, it was all in trust funds for Casius and Marcus, created when they were born by their grandfather. Valentine and Sergio couldn't touch it if they wanted to and unfortunately, that would be the thing that caused the end of Valentine, Marcus and Casius' innocent years.

When Sergio dragged them back to the house, he screamed at the boys to get to their bedrooms while he took Valentine by her hair and dragged her behind him down the stairs into the basement. The basement was always off limits to them unless Sergio was punishing them. Only punishments took place in the basement and they were never good. Valentine was going to get the worst punishment of her life for trying to take the boys and run. It was a slap in the face to Sergio and he wouldn't tolerate disrespect from anyone, let alone his wife.

That night, Marcus and Casius learned that good people never get ahead in life and their father had been right all along. They never learned where their mother went; they just knew she wouldn't be coming back. Ever. Their father had dealt with the disrespect their mother showed their father and they knew she paid dearly.

After the 'disappearance' of their mother, Casius and Marcus simply stopped caring who got caught in the crossfire in the grand scheme of things. Shit happens and they would deal with it, only looking out for themselves. Family ties, blood, meant nothing if they could get ahead. It was a dog eat dog world out there as their father taught them, and they were going to survive by any means necessary. Even though they were so at odds, the brothers knew if anything happened to the other, they would avenge them. Nobody messes with family, regardless of their own infighting.

When Sergio passed away, Marcus, being the eldest of the children, took over his operations. That was when he learned all about the Cullens. He'd known a little about them from his run in with Senior and Junior many years prior. He, his brother and his mother had been in a serious car accident with little four year old Edward and Senior a year or two before Valentine left.

Valentine was hurt quite badly, having to be taken to the hospital while Casius received air bag burns and a broken arm. Marcus was fine, able to come away from the crash without any permanent damage, the injuries he sustained were treatable without any lasting damage. He had been trapped in the back seat, driver's side with a crushed leg, whiplash and cuts all over his face from flying glass, but he wouldn't sustain any life threatening or disfiguring injuries. The firefighters and police came to cut him out of the destroyed metal. That had been the day his life turned for the worst.

Marcus never forgave the Cullen family, Junior and Senior especially, for the accident; no matter that it was actually his mother's fault for running the red light. The Cullens got away scot free. Junior received only a cut below his chin from where he got knocked by the dashboard. Two stitches and he was ready to go. How was it okay that they got through the accident with just a little blood and his entire world started crumbling? Sergio started drinking more. The more he drank, the more frequently and harder he hit. All the while, Valentine started withdrawing more and more.

In addition to not having many serious injuries, the Cullens didn't have to pay higher insurance, hospital bills, physical therapy, etc. The insurance company only covered so much; even less because it was deemed his mother's fault. Nobody cared that the Cullens were beyond rich with everything at their fingertips. Nobody cared that the Volturis couldn't afford half of what was needed unless they broke into Marcus and Casius' trust funds that had been set up by their paternal grandfather.

Now that Marcus was grown and in charge of what little was left of his ancestor's legacy, he took it upon himself to rebuild it even greater that it had been. He would take over Chicago and get the Cullens out of the way, one way or another.

Learning about the ongoing, centuries old rivalry between the Cullens and Volturis only cemented the fact that Chicago should have been his long ago. His ancestors were the rightful owners of the city and he was simply flabbergasted that his ancestors hadn't fought harder for what was theirs. It seemed to him that he would have to do all the heavy lifting in the family to earn his birthright.

The information that had been provided to him, indicating where the Cullens were dinging the day before New Year's, was correct. He made sure his best guys were on the eradication assignment. Take down all the Cullens once and for all in one fell swoop. All Felix and Dmitri, his best men, were able to do was wound the little bitch, the new girl, the one junior was fawning all over like a love sick puppy. It was disgusting but Marcus wasn't about to complain. Junior was distracted, which made him careless, sloppy and an easy target to hit. All Marcus had to do was find the perfect opportunity to strike.

Marcus had thought he had the perfect plan in place with Felix and Dmitri. There was no chance for failure as it was a surprise attack so as the two of them went to exterminate the problem, Marcus went to the docks with some of his other men to see if there was anything he could commandeer from the Cullens possession.

As the news of what happened broke to the Volturi, Marcus seethed. It had been a simple task, go shoot up the restaurant and kill everyone so there was absolutely no way the Cullens could survive. They were supposed to pump enough lead into the restaurant so that nothing would be left breathing. His men had fucked up and fucked him over when they failed. If the Cullens hadn't already taken care of them, he would have made them suffer before killing them slowly. As it stood, Felix and Dmitri got off easily.

Because of the incompetence of his men, Marcus, expecting to rule the city after that night, had to hurry back into hiding. Things were sloppy, mistakes were made and he knew the moment he was shut away from the world like Hitler had been in his last days, the end was near for him. His time was coming to an end. Soon.

There he sat in his bunker, hoping the Cullens were too stupid, or preoccupied with the new bitch in the hospital to look for him too closely. By now they had to know it was him that had ordered the hit on their lives. The longer the time passed without any sign from the Cullens, the more paranoid he became.

Checking the lock to the bunker every ten minutes while watching the news for any word became routine throughout the day. Along with the added paranoia came the false sense of security. Marcus thought he got away clean; leaving no trace of his whereabouts.

The strategy had been simple, but proven effective over years of use, yet in this case, was proven ineffective. Surprise attacks left the opponent feeling dazed and confused, even for a few minutes, giving a brief moment, the most opportune moment to strike and end the fight before it even began. Strike before they realize what's going on; before they have time to react. Marcus had been on both ends of the stick at one point or another thanks to his brother. How the Volturi boys had survived thus far, no one could figure out.

As Marcus lived, or more aptly put, survived in his bunker, he slowly devised a new plan, a better plan as to how to deal with the Cullens once and for all. He was absolutely sure this plan would work. It had to. After all, if it didn't he probably wouldn't get another chance. Now he just had to sit tight and wait until things died down a little. He didn't want to jump the gun on anything that might ruin the strategy.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank TwiSNFan for the wonderful Beta work; she's a miracle worker, if there ever was one. You can all thank TwiSNFan, sassy41 and for keeping my spirits up, motivating me and for helping me get my groove back when my heart wasn't into the writing thanks to some negative reviews I received. This chapter was hard to write. Sorry for the long wait period. I hope to keep it shorter this next time.**

**Write a review if you want, but if you're going to slam me, don't bother. I don't want to hear it. I read each and every one, even if I may not respond to all.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I finished NaNoWriMo and I'm also working on this, please don't bite my head off this is a little late. I had jury duty so I wrote this all out by hand before typing it up. Be thankful my fingers aren't down to the nubs yet.**

**I also played musical computers while taking care of a friend's animals. She's out of the country and my computer can't connect with her internet. Her computer doesn't have word. It's pretty interesting around here.**

**Two things before reading this chapter: I have never had a SART kit, so please bear with me if I got anything wrong, (don't worry, there's no rape) and I know the whole criminal justice system is not that quick. It would usually take days, but I'm the author and that's my prerogative to speed things up if I so choose. These things will make sense when you get to those parts. I don't want to give much away.**

**I don't own Twilight, that honor goes to SM.**

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><p>The doorbell rang loudly the next morning while Bella was still asleep in the most comfortable bed she had occupied in a long while. She smiled as she slowly woke in the warmth that could only indicate Edward was holding her. Stretching carefully like a little kitten waking from a nap in the afternoon sun, she smacked her lips as her eyes slowly opened to show their dimly lit bedroom. She was so desperately happy to be back home.<p>

Sheer light curtains were drawn closed to keep out some of the early morning sun while the thick black out curtains were open wide and tied off to the side. If it had been the spring, summer or early fall, the blackout curtains would have been drawn to keep out the bright, early morning sunrise. That day, since it was winter, there was not much sun to keep out.

Bella lay beside Edward for what felt like hours until there was a gentle knock on the door. Calling the visitor into the room, she carefully sat up against the headboard to speak with whoever it was. Slipping into the bedroom, Rose easily located Bella and slinked over so she could whisper to Bella without waking Edward.

"Rose, good morning. What can I help you with this fine winter morning?" Bella inquired. She could tell something was going on by the look on Rose's face.

Sitting on the bed next to Bella, Rose whispered, "There are some detectives downstairs that would like to ask you a few questions. They said it had something to do with the shooting."

"What?" Bella asked clearly confused. "Didn't Black already do that while I was in the hospital?"

A sour look crossed Rose's face as she quietly spat, "He did, which is why I'm curious as to why he's down stairs at the moment."

Bella groaned at the fact she would have to deal with Black just when she woke for the morning. Black was a bully, plain and simple, and she didn't want anyone to try and bully her the day after she got out of the hospital. She felt dirty as she hadn't had a true shower in so long. She was tired and she just wanted to be lazy today, not doing anything. All that was shattered when she heard Black was downstairs.

Huffing, Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fine. Tell them I'll be down when I'm done showering. I am not going to take his shit today. I'm cranky, irritated at him and tired."

As Rose smiled, she said, "Good. Don't let anyone try and brow beat you into doing anything you don't want to do."

"I'm sick of his games. Let's just get this over with and get him out of here so I can get on with my life," Bella grumbled as she got out of the bed with Rose's help.

The shower had been remodeled while she was in the hospital, she noticed, probably at the insistence of Esme. The new and improved shower sported a tiled, built in bench that Bella could utilize if she became weak in the shower. The shampoos, conditioners and body washes were still where she'd grown used to having them, in a deep cut out of the wall.

Bella stepped into the shower and quickly turned on the water. However, as opposed as the three shower heads that used to be there, now there were what seemed to be hundreds. There was no single inch of that shower that did not feel the gentle downpour coming from the updated shower. _Why would someone need that many shower heads in a single shower?_

Having not been able to take a shower for a while, Bella stayed in there for twice as long as normal. The strawberry scent of the products she still had; calmed her almost as much as Edward did. She was careful not to soak her bandages through and rested on the bench when she needed to. She didn't want to hurt herself again on accident.

The fuzzy towels felt softer than usual as she dried off and dressed in conservative, baggy sweats and a baggy shirt. Her hair was wrapped up in the towel when she went back into the bedroom to deposit the used pajamas from the previous night in the laundry hamper. Slipping some socks on, she pulled the towel off her hair and flung it across the room to the hamper before she looked down at the still sleeping Edward.

Bella leaned over his sleeping body and gently kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger longer than usual before she straightened up, ran her fingers through his hair a few times before she slipped her socked feet into her fuzzy slippers and headed out to deal with Black.

In the elevator, Bella couldn't escape the feeling that this meeting was not going to end well. It was going to be a bad day; she could tell. With the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, all Bella wanted to do was crawl back into bed with Edward and laze the day away. She would deal with all of this another day.

Rose helped Bella to a spot on the couch next to Esme. The doctors had told Bella to take it easy and already she'd worn herself out. It hadn't even been an hour since she woke. She resented Black for making her do one more thing she wasn't supposed to do. Grabbing Bella's hand as the girl sat, Esme sent her a comforting smile as she squeezed her hand.

A blanket was flung over Bella's legs and a pillow was fluffed behind her to give her back some support as she leaned back. Bella made sure to send a thankful smile to both Rose and Alice before she glanced at the others in the room, purposefully ignoring Black and the other detective. Carlisle came into the room with a glass of water, handed it to Bella with a smile while supplying her with her required daily pills.

Everyone was quiet until Black broke the silence. "Miss Swan, Isabella, we need more information on the drive by."

"I don't know how much more I can tell you. I told you everything I remember while I was in the hospital," Bella replied stiffly. She hadn't forgotten what had taken place in the hospital, thanks to Black. The panic and worry she had been put through thanks to that man should never have happened. She was a victim, it was time they started treating her like one.

Black came around the arm chair the other detective was sitting in and growled out, "I don't believe you for one second. I think you're trying to protect them."

"Why wouldn't I tell you who shot at me? Wouldn't that be counter intuitive? Wouldn't common sense tell you I'd want those people off the street before they hurt someone else, or even come back to finish off the job. Tell me, why would I lie to you about something like that? Why would I lie when my life is hanging in the balance?"

"I don't know!" Black shouted while throwing his arms in the air in frustration.

The other detective stood when the sudden, aggressive movement of Black's arms caused Bella to flinch back in fear. "Cool it Black." Black grumbled to himself as he plopped himself down in another arm chair angrily. He glared over at Bella as she glared back.

"Miss Swan, my name is Detective Call. I'm working on the drive by. I wanted to come by and personally ask you what you remember. I understand you don't remember much. Is there anything you may have thought of since last time you were questioned that may be useful to this investigation?" Call asked, trying to diffuse the growing tension between his partner and their victim.

Bella huffed and turned her eyes over to the other detective. She started picking her fingernails as she answered Detective Call's question. "All I remember are the screams and gunshots, the falling glass and the pain. I remember the pots for the plants bursting apart and the pieces of mirrors falling, causing a disco effect with the lighting. I remember the bullets hitting the rod iron lamps above the tables as well as the backs of the chairs before they deflected off to another direction. I remember the look in Alice's eyes when we both realized I was shot and I remember the worry in Edward's as he ran back over to me. That's all I remember. So tell me, detective Call, how does any of **that** help you investigation?" Bella asked heatedly.

"It doesn't ma'am," the detective responded. "I'm sorry I had to dredge up those awful memories for you."

Bella nodded at the detective before turning to glare at Black. "At least one of you is polite."

"Excuse me?" Black questioned standing up again. He was used to using intimidation to exact information, but it wasn't working on Bella. She had dealt with too many bullies in her life already and she wasn't about to bow down to yet another one. She just wanted a normal life, as normal as one could be when married to a mobster.

"Black," Call warned. "How are you feeling?" he asked turning to look at Bella again. He was trying to get on her good side again. If Black kept up with his temper tantrum, they weren't going to get anywhere before they were kicked out of the apartment. If that happened, they wouldn't be able to ask any more questions.

"I feel like I just got shot. How do you think I feel?" Bella quipped sarcastically.

Holding up his hands in a placating manner, he conceded with a smile, "Fair enough." He closed his notebook and asked, "If I may ask, why are you here? In Chicago I mean."

Just wanting to get them out of the apartment before everything went up in flames, Bella huffed in exasperation and told them, "Because my aunt and uncle are friends with the Cullens and thought it best I come out here to enjoy being out of California for a bit. They wanted me to meet some new people."

"And you couldn't meet new people closer to home?" Call inquired, almost sounding interested in the answer. Bella wasn't fooled though; she knew he was digging for information. The slightest piece could be used later down the road if they thought it was going to be useful. They were trying to catch her up in a lie, or inconsistency with the others.

Shrugging, Bella responded, "They wanted me to be with someone they trusted, I guess. I don't know why they sent me here. You would have to ask them, not me." She knew they were dead; she had known since she was dragged out of her aunt and uncle's house that night. She could smell the copper and the stench of dying flesh as she struggled in the man's arms. Why then did she lie to the officers? Because she didn't want them knowing that she knew they were dead. She was supposed to have left before they died. _Had anyone found them yet?_

"How old are you?" Call asked.

"Seventeen years old. Why do you ask?" Bella questioned.

Call looked at his notes in his small notebook and asked, "And your aunt and uncle are okay with how long your say is here?"

When Bella shrugged again, she could see the annoyance growing in Black's posture. She could also see out of the corner of her eye that Alice was texting someone on her phone as they spoke. It was probably Edward; though Bella knew his phone was on silent - with the information Bella was giving to the detectives so everyone would be on the same page in the end. "They haven't called to tell me to come home yet. I have no problem staying here. Actually, I haven't spoken to them since I got here in September. They seem to be much happier without me there."

"When are you set to get back to California?" Black groused.

"Whenever my aunt and uncle call up and tell me to get back there, as I've already stated," Bella snarked back before she sighed in irritation as she gripped at her wound to prevent the throbbing from getting worse. "However, I don't expect them calling anytime soon, as my life is now here, in Chicago."

As Esme opened her mouth to ask the detectives to leave so Bella could get some much needed rest, Edward walked into the living room in a white wife beater and some loose, blue and green flannel lounge pants. His hair was even more unruly than normal and his eyes were still at half mast with sleep. He reached up and scratched at his chest before his smile widened at the sight of Bella sitting with his sister-in-law, holding hands.

Without looking at the other occupants of the room, Edward padded over to Bella and kissed her forehead as he mumbled against her warm skin, "Hey you. What are you doing out of bed? When I woke up, the bed was cold. Why'd you leave me alone? I thought we could get a little more cuddling in before we got up today. Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

Bella smiled up at Edward, reaching out for his hand. "Sorry, but the detectives refused to take 'no' for an answer."

When Edward's back stiffened at the word 'detectives,' Black stood up from his chair with an evil smile on his face as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a set of shiny silver handcuffs. "Let's go Cullen, hands behind your back. You know the drill. You're under arrest."

"What?" Bella shrieked with wide, horrified eyes. "He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Two things," Edward said as he stood. "One, you're not the one I want using handcuffs and two, what are the charges you fabricated this time?"

Call walked over to Black and whispered in his ear for a moment. Black shot him a glare before he slapped the cuffs on Edward and grinned. "Edward Cullen, you are under arrest for statutory rape and endangering the welfare of a minor. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"Yes," Edward huffed out. "Esme, call Peter and have him meet me at the station. He'll have me out by dinner tomorrow," Edward called as Black shoved him right through the door.

As the front door shut behind Detective Call there was a single moment when everything was deathly silent and completely still before Emmett and Carlisle sprung into action, jumping up and rushing out after the three men. Esme pulled out her phone from her skirt pocket and dialed Peter's number as Bella grabbed Alice's hand and clung to her in fright.

When Rose came careening into the room like a bat out of hell, wanting to know what had happened, Alice could only tell her to get the wheelchair for Bella. Rose didn't need to be told twice as she rushed to get to Edward and Bella's room for the chair.

Handing Bella the phone, Esme told her, "Peter wants t speak with you. He has a few questions that may help him free Edward quickly."

Still in the state of going into shock, Rose and Alice had to help her into the wheelchair as Esme handed the phone out for her to take. When Bella saw the phone in front of her, she took it and answered in a daze, "Hello?"

"Bella, it's Peter. I'm on my way to the station right now. I need to know, have you ever had sex with Edward? I need to know the truth here if I'm going to help him."

Recognizing Peter's voice as frantic, Bella answered, "No! I haven't! We've been sleeping in the same bed, but that's what married couples do. That's all we've been doing! I swear! He keeps the nightmares away. That's it."

"Wait, you're married?" Peter asked, some of the anxious tone leaving. "When did you get married?"

"When I first got here. A couple days after my seventeenth birthday or something. I'd have to look at the paperwork again. I don't know where it is though. Senior and Edward dealt with all that. It wasn't exactly a nice time," Bella replied robotically. The thought of losing her safe harbor was quickly taking a toll on her. The life was leaving her eyes and voice, the numbness was creeping back up her spine.

Peter sighed out, almost in relief before he asked, "I can work with that. Are you a virgin by any chance?" It almost sounded like he was onto something the way he was probing, asking specific questions.

"Yes. I am, but I don't know if you should tell everyone we're married. Edward and his father weren't telling people for a reason, I don't want to screw anything up for them and their plans…" Bella stated through her tears. "Is Edward going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine," Peter reassured her. "They don't have a complaining party and they don't have any evidence, therefore, they have no case. Black really screwed up this time. He jumped the gun and let his personal feelings cloud his judgment. Instead of taking his time to gather the proper evidence, he jumped in with both feet without a safety net. That will work to our advantage in this case."

"If it's all the same to you, I'm still coming down there." Bella wanted to be there for Edward, but more importantly, she wanted to see with her own two eyes the moment he was freed from the clutches of Black and his fellow officers.

Black had been after the Cullens since before Bella knew them, heard of them even; he was constantly resorting to questionable methods, arresting Edward when he had little to absolutely no evidence against him. Bella could only hope one of the Black's fishing expeditions didn't actually hook something that could land Edward or one of the other Cullens in prison. Even as strong as they kept saying she was, Bella didn't know if she would survive without Edward with her.

"Don't' bother, they won't let you see him today and they'll probably try and finagle some more incriminating statements out of you while you wait. It would be safer if you just stay there for the night and try and get some sleep. I already pushed for arraignment tomorrow, since the DA just put out an arrest warrant for Edward and pressed the charges on Black's say so; so it'll be best if you show up then. I've petitioned for an early hearing since we're ready to move forward now and they have absolutely no evidence whatsoever, which I think is absolutely asinine. Why press charges when you don't have any evidence? You can't do anything here today. Why don't you go straight to the court house tomorrow and we'll meet you there. I'll be easier on you in your current condition," Peter assuaged her with his proposed option.

Bella rolled her eyes at him, though he couldn't see it and huffed irritated. "Fine. We'll meet you at the courthouse tomorrow morning. Tell me which room when you find out, please?"

Laughing, Peter responded, "Even wounded, husband arrested in front of you and you're still polite as hell. I wish everyone was like that."

"Well Peter, I'm just special. What can I tell you?"

"Too true, Bella, too true," Peter agreed. "I'm here. I'll let you know what room at the courthouse as soon as I find out. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks."

That night Bella sat in her darkened room on the small leather couch as she stared out the window at the city below her; though she couldn't see anything. Her brain was running a mile a minute thinking of all the 'what ifs' that could happen with Edward. She was driving herself crazy the longer she sat there.

So lost in her internal struggles, Bella didn't hear the bedroom door open or the corresponding person pad over to her. She finally jumped three feet in the air as a hand was laid on her shoulder. Whirling around, she saw a worried Senior standing there and forced a smile up at him to get him to stop worrying about her.

"How are you doing? You didn't come down to dinner, we were all getting worried," he explained his presence in the room quietly.

Shrugging, Bella turned her eyes back to the bustling city below and said, "I'm not hungry. I just want him back home with me. It feels wrong to have him in jail tonight because some asshole detective can't get the god damned stick out of his ass."

Senior chuckled loudly at Bella's indignation and sat down next to her on the couch, jostling her just slightly as he got himself comfortable. "I know, Bella. None of us like it, but it's just for one night. Peter's good at what he does. He'll get him home to you. He told me that with the information you gave him earlier that there's no way in hell Edward will have to spend a second night there."

"I don't get why Black arrested him though. Why are they pressing charges when they don't have a complaining party?" Bella asked as she looked back at Senior with large, uncertain, worried eyes and a trembling lower lip.

Sighing, Senior ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair in a move Bella had seen Edward make many times, causing her to smile weakly. "I know, Kid, but apparently what Edward said to you could have been misconstrued, which all but guaranteed Black to take it the wrong way and jump all over it. And with him being a police officer, he had to do something about it since he's a mandatory reporter; all cops are just like teachers, bankers, and many more. His status as a mandatory reporter states he could be fired and thrown in jail if he fails to report any sort of crime he sees or hears."

"But why did he arrest Edward? All he had to do was report it! If he had reported it, an investigation would have started and he would have found we were married and everything would be stopped after that. Why did he arrest Edward?" Bella asked as tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Because Black has always hated our family, Edward especially. You would have to ask Edward what happened, I'm not sure I know the whole story. Black has been out for us since he before he became a cop. Honestly, I think that's why he became a cop - to try and destroy us with the law backing him up in the end. And with his intimidation of everyone around him, he usually gets what he wants out of people. Except maybe this family, and that's including you." Senior explained, trying to lighten the mood. If there was one thing he despised, it was seeing someone in his immediate family cry. It always left him feeling helpless as to what to do to make it better, a trait his youngest shared as well.

"I just want him back!" Bella sobbed as the tears finally fell over and soaked her cheeks.

Pulling her into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her in a gigantic hug and rested his cheek on the top of her head as she sobbed into his chest. "I know, Kid. I know."

"I can't sleep because I can't get comfortable. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway because of the nightmares this is no doubt going to give me. I've smelled his sweatshirt all day trying to calm down and stop thinking, but it's losing his smell. I don't know what to do! What if he does get sent to jail, or worse! Prison? What if they don't listen to Peter? If I had woken him up to go down to talk to the detectives this morning, this wouldn't have happened. "

"None of that crap," Senior scolded gently. "No what ifs, no shoulda, coulda, woulda. Don't do that to yourself, it'll only make you sick and you can't have that in your current condition. None of this is your fault and when Edward comes back and hears you say that, he's going to be very upset. It's nobody's fault but Black's. He's the one so gung-ho about ruining our family completely."

"I'm sorry," Bella cried into his white dress shirt with a small whimper. "I just want him here so bad…"

Brushing her hair down her back, Senior sighed and whispered, "I know. But you're going to get him back tomorrow."

That night Bella spent hours in Senior's arms in a sobbing, hiccupping, whimpering mess on the couch. He held her as he tried to reassure her that Edward would be coming back sooner than she realized like any father would do with his child. And finally, in the early morning, Bella crashed completely from all the emotions, taking a quick nap against Senior for an hour or two with Senior's arms wrapped around her as they waited for Peter to call with the needed information.

An hour after Peter called the next morning, Rose wheeled Bella into courtroom three while most of the other family members followed behind. Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were sitting in the front row behind the defense table to show their support of their brother and jumped when Esme patted their shoulders in greeting.

Since she was in a wheelchair, Bella couldn't take a seat on the pew with the others. Instead, Esme maneuvered her to the outside walkway of the pews and stopped the chair just at the first row where her family was waiting for the courtroom proceedings. Standing, Carlisle made room for Esme and Rose between him and Emmett as Esme squeezed by him to the inside before he took the end seat and reached over for Bella's hand. She smiled at him as he smiled back at her and gently squeezed her hand in silent support.

Beside Emmett, Alice nervously twitched in her seat as she glanced around the courthouse. She'd never been in one and was nervous as to how the proceedings would work. Her twitching hands were stopped when Jasper laid his hand over them and took one before twining their fingers together and smiling down at her. Senior sat on the other side of Jasper on the bench seat, closest to the aisle. Had Bella not been in the wheelchair there wouldn't have been any room for her to sit with her family, so she was thankful for small mercies.

Peter walked in a few moments later with another man and they made their way up to the defense table. The man Peter was with was older and holding a few binders along with a briefcase in his other hand. They placed their things strategically on the table before them before Peter turned to the Cullens. When he found Bella off to the side, he moved closer so they could speak quietly without the prosecution hearing.

"How badly do you want Edward home?" Peter questioned softly so only the two of them could hear, though he already knew the answer she would provide.

"Please Peter. Get him home. I'll do anything in my power to get him home to stay, please. You can't let him go to prison. Please. I don't think I could get through that," Bella begged and pleaded as the tears welled in her eyes again. She just wanted Edward home so she would stop crying.

Smiling, Peter patted her hand and nodded to her before stating, "I'll get him home to you."

"Please rise, the court is now in session, the honorable Judge Aarons presiding. Docket number 62316. The state of Illinois vs. Edward Cullen, one count statutory rape and once count endangering the welfare of a minor," the bailiff called out loudly as Peter went back to his position at the table and everyone but Bella rose for the judge as he entered the court room. "Please be seated. Bring in the defendant."

Another bailiff brought Edward in, wrists shackled to his waist with the body shackles, wearing an orange jumpsuit. Due to the ankle shackles, Edward was taking small steps as the bailiff brought him over to the defendant's table. Bella gasped at the sight of Edward, causing quite a few people to look over at her, including Edward. He smiled at her and waved as best he could due to the restraints before he turned back around in the chair to look at the judge. The best thing he could do is be respectful of the judge and the others in the room.

The tears that had welled in Bella's eyes fell as the bailiff had Edward sit at the table and secured the chains to a sturdy loop in the floor to keep him at the table during his time in the courtroom before he moved away to allow court to start.

Sniffling behind Edward tore at his heart. This shouldn't be happening. He shouldn't be there. Bella shouldn't have to go through all of it so soon after she was discharged from the hospital. When were things going to start going in their favor?

The prosecutor at the other table stood to introduce himself to the court and the judge, "District Attorney Simon Alistair for the prosecution, Your Honor."

Peter stood as well and fixed his suit jacket while introducing himself and his colleague, "Peter Grissom and David Williams for the defense, Your Honor."

"Your Honor, we're asking for remand. The victim lives in the same house. We wish to keep her safe," the prosecutor explained almost cutting Peter's introduction on. Apparently he wanted to get straight down to the point.

Still standing, Peter interrupted to further explain what the prosecutor hadn't. "Your Honor, the prosecution does not have a reporting party, nor an alleged victim in this case. Detective Black overheard a comment made by my client and over reacted like usual when he deals with the Cullens. This entire performance is egregious and detrimental to my client, not to mention the health of the supposed victim. At this time, we ask the charges be dropped. There is absolutely no call for them and no substance to them."

"Your Honor," the District Attorney called from the next table over, "Detectives Black and Call heard Mr. Cullen here make statements as to him sleeping with an under aged house guest. At that time, they arrested Mr. Cullen to protect the under aged child from further abuse."

Looking over at DA Alistair, Peter replied, "The supposed victim has nightmares and night terrors. Mr. Cullen seems to be the only one who can prevent them by laying with her. Fully clothed, I might add. That same so-called under aged child is in fact a seventeen year old girl. That being said, she is ready and willing to go to the doctors and submit to a SART exam to prove once and for all she is in fact a virgin and Mr. Cullen has not taken advantage of her. She is willing to prove that nothing has ever happened in that aspect between my client and her before. She's ready to go at this moment if she has to, to prove his innocence."

The judge looked over at Peter and asked, "Where is this girl? I wish to see her."

Bella raised her hand, the one she wasn't gripping onto Carlisle's with. "Here, Your Honor," she squeaked feeling the nerves wash through her body, leaving her confused and light headed.

Turning his gaze to Bella, the judge inquired, "Are you willing to undergo a SART exam? At the present moment? Even though you don't have to?"

"Yes," Bella answered with just a slight waver to her voice. Nodding, Bella continued with reiterating what she had told Peter numerous times, "I'll do anything you need me to do to prove his innocence, Your Honor."

Detective Black stood from his seat in the first row behind the prosecution's table and whispered to DA Alistair before sitting back down in his seat with a self-satisfied smirk on his lips as he turned to the Cullens to gloat.

"At this point, once the exam is completed, I would request to have a protective order put out on Miss Swan and ask that she be sent back to California where she's from and her family resides. The chances of her being victimized are high if Mr. Cullen is allowed back home, Your Honor. I don't think anyone wants to take that chance at this time with an impressionable young girl." The smile on the prosecutor's face was wide and innocent. Too innocent. He was up to something, something he thought would be beneficial to his side winning and finally putting one of the Cullens behind bars.

Bella held her breath and squeezed Carlisle's hand. She didn't want to go back. She would be put in Foster care since her aunt and uncle were dead. She wouldn't have anyone then and she didn't think she could handle that. She couldn't go back to being all alone in the world.

As if Carlisle were reading Bella's mind, he gently squeezed her hand in a quiet show of support and understanding.

"That is unnecessary, Your Honor," Peter replied confidently.

"And why isn't it necessary, Mr. Grissom?" the judged asked with a critical eye. "I don't want to see this young girl be abused on my watch if she were to go back to that house. Tell me one good reason I shouldn't send her back," he bargained, waiting for a good, worthwhile answer. He had seen every excuse in the book, nothing could shock him, or so he thought.

Peter pulled out some papers and handed it to one of the bailiffs who in turn took it over to the judge to look at. Glancing over at Detective Black, Bella noticed his smirk was gone, as was the prosecutor's. They just looked worried since they didn't know what was going on. At that moment, Bella was so thankful that discovery only went one way, from prosecution to defense and not from defense to prosecution. Peter had the ace up his sleeve and he was playing it.

"You see, Your Honor," Peter explained as the judge looked over the papers in front of him, "they're married."

"What?!" Detective Black screeched as he shot out of his seat like he had just sat on some tacks, clearly enraged at the new development. "She's only seventeen years old for Christ's sake! She can't be married!"

"As you can see on the subsequent papers, Your Honor," Peter continued as if he hadn't just been interrupted, "her aunt and uncle, her legal guardians at the time, signed all the needed paperwork to make this marriage legal. Mr. Cullen and Miss Swan were legally married September 13th of this past year, a few days after Miss Swan arrived here in Chicago. This entire circus act could have been avoided if the police had done their job and collected the needed evidence and checked into every aspect, but they didn't. They didn't do their homework and now they're just trying to smear my client's good name."

There was a silent, tense moment as Bella asked herself, _how the marriage certificate could have been issued on the thirteenth when that was the day she came to Chicago? Was that one of the things they did to make it look like she arrived a few days before her aunt and uncle died so she would have an air tight alibi?_ The silence resonated throughout the courtroom as the judge thought everything over while looking at the marriage certificate. Finally he nodded. "I have to agree. All of this could have been avoided. The charges are herby dropped. Mr. Cullen, you are free to go under one stipulation. To curb my curiosity and ease my conscious, Ms. Swan is to get the SART exam. Today. I want to know if I have to separate you two or if I can go home and go to sleep tonight knowing Miss Swan is safe and isn't being assaulted. This marriage certificate may give you two the right to be intimate with one another, but Ms. Swan, you swore to me you were ready to do anything to get his name cleared. I believe if this isn't taken care of today, it is highly likely the police will try and sink you both with this. I want all of this dealt with and cleared up quickly."

Feeling light headed, Bella let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. She smiled brightly at the wonderful turn of events. Carlisle patted her hand as she turned her smile over to him and then looked over at Edward. Her smile became goofy when she saw he was watching her already. He was going to go home with her, how could she not be exceedingly happy about that?

"Your Honor, may I request that Detective Black refrain from being the officer at the doctor's. I believe Ms. Swan would be most comfortable with a female officer," Peter requested. Even only meeting Bella a handful of times, he already knew a lot about her.

"Your Honor," The prosecutor argued, "That's excessive. Detective Black is simply fulfilling his job description."

"He is an Organized Crime officer. The last I heard, Chicago Police Department only wants Special Victims Unit to handle those kinds of things, especially that kind of evidence," Peter politely countered while turning from the judge to the prosecutor and then back to the judge again.

Nodding, the judge agreed, "I want a female officer with Miss Swan during the exam. The officer can bring the results directly to me. Now, if the two of you are all done, I'd like to get on with the cases on today's docket."

Peter turned to face the Cullens with a smile. "Give me an hour and we'll meet you guys over at the hospital. You might as well get it over with as fast as possible so you can go home and be with each other."

"How did you get the paperwork so quickly? I thought the city records department needed three days to process the request for another copy of the marriage certificates," Bella questioned.

Smiling over at her, Peter replied, "You can thank Edward Senior for that. He was able to get me a copy of them yesterday afternoon."

Bella looked over at Senior, who was standing next to the bench, talking with Jasper and Alice. He glanced up at Bella and Peter and nodded once in acknowledgement. Bella's watery smile and a single nod back let him know she was grateful to him and however he may have gotten those certificates, legal or otherwise. Frankly, she didn't know and didn't really want to.

To Bella, the hour felt like three. She, along with Rose, Alice, Esme, Carlisle and Emmett, were all congregated in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting on Peter and Edward to show. Bella flat out refused to go into the exam room without Edward by her side. Senior and Jasper had left the courthouse with the promise to meet them at the apartment for dinner.

When the officer arrived, the nurse took her into the exam room while Bella continued to wait. It wasn't a long wait because Edward and Peter came rushing in moments later. Edward was instantly at Bella's side, hugging her as hard as he dared with her current condition.

"How are you doing, Little Love?" Edward asked, frantic to assess her condition as he searched over her clothed body as if he had x-ray vision and could determine what was happening internally with her.

Bella nodded, "I'm okay. Better now that you're here."

"Miss Swan," a nurse in purple scrubs dotted with little cupcakes asked as she came over to the gaggle of people surrounding the young woman. "Are you ready to go back now?" Nodding, Bella grabbed Edward's hand as the nurse explained, "You're allowed to bring one person with you..." she continued but Bella tuned her out.

Looking over her shoulder and up at Edward with her large, scared, pleading eyes, asked, "Can you come with me, Edward? Please?"

When Edward leaned down, he kissed Bella on the forehead as he reassured her. "Absolutely, Little Love. I wouldn't be anywhere else than with you. All you have to do is ask."

As Edward pushed Bella in her wheelchair into the exam room, the officer looked up, shocked to see Edward in the room with them. She had expected Bella to request someone else come into the room with her instead. Usually when victims are abused, they don't request the presence of the perpetrator.

Once the door was shut, the female officer stepped forward to introduce herself. "Hello. I'm Detective Susan Munch. I'll be in here during the exam to preserve the chain of custody over the evidence."

Edward and Bella both greeted the detective with a handshake before the doctor came in. She smiled at the trio before her and took out a crinkly privacy sheet and set it on the table.

"All right Miss Swan, I'm Doctor Carter. I'll be performing the exam today. I'll step out for a few moments with the detective here while you get undressed-" the doctor explained but Detective Munch quickly interrupted.

"Sorry, but I can't leave the room. It breaks the chain of custody. I have to stay in here until everyone leaves or I get the evidence and report. I can turn around to give you privacy though," Detective Munch explained somewhat apologetically.

Doctor Carter continued with a nod of her head. "In that case, I'll leave. I need you to remove your pants and any underwear you may be wearing. You can put this sheet over your legs to cover yourself," she explained while holding up another crinkly folded up paper blanket Bella could cover herself with to keep modest in front of the strangers. "When I come back, I'll have you put your feet in the stirrups so I can administer the exam. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

The door creaked open and clicked closed after the doctor had left, leaving the room in total silence.

A beat or two later Edward stepped in front of Bella and knelt before her and asked, "Do you need some help getting up?" He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear as he waited for her response.

"Yes please," Bella told him quietly. "I wore myself out this morning."

Edward helped maneuver Bella to a standing position before he gingerly leaned her against the exam table as he moved the chair out from behind her. He moved back, kneeling before Bella as he silently asker her with his eyes if she'd need his help with undressing. Nodding, Bella gave him the silent acceptance of his help that he needed before he began.

Reaching up, Edward untied Bella's sweatpants before he carefully pulled them off her legs. Bella grabbed onto Edward's shoulder carefully as she leaned onto one foot then the other to help Edward take the pants off completely.

The pants were flung over to the chair in the corner before Edward carefully picked Bella up and placed her on the cold, padded leather exam table where she would need to go during the exam. The paper under her crinkled annoyingly as it was tousled around. Quickly depositing the paper blanket on Bella's legs to cover her, Edward bent down in front of her again.

Again, Bella gripped Edward's shoulders as she leaned to one side then the other as Edward modestly helped her out of her conservative, white cotton underwear. He placed them over Bella's sweatpants just as the doctor knocked on the door and walked back in. She smiled at Bella as she took a seat on the rolling stool in the room. Edward came over to Bella's side opposite the detective, near her head and grabbed the hand that was closest to him. She gave him a grateful smile as the doctor pulled out the stirrups from where they were hiding in the table. Bella's feet were directed to them before the doctor asked, "All right, it looks like we have a court order to see what's going on down here. I am to determine if you're a virgin, if you are the exam is finished. We won't have to go any further. If you're not, I am to determine when the last time you had sex was. Does that sound reasonable to everyone?"

When everyone nodded in agreement, the doctor snapped on a set of gloves and slopped some lubricant on her right index finger and went to conduct the exam, leaving the privacy blanket over Bella's thighs so neither of the observers could look. Bella silently thanked the doctor for keeping her privacy and modesty intact.

Both the detective and Edward could tell the moment the doctor's finger was inserted because Bella tensed up tightly as she grimaced. The grip on Edward's hand tightened exponentially, crushing his hand in the process, causing him to grimace as well.

"You're all right, Little Love," Edward cooed in Bella's ear as he brushed her hair out of her face and back onto the table with his free hand as he tried to calm her. Bella's forehead was drenched in sweat already due to the stressful situation. Attempting to take a calming breath, it only aggravated her stomach making it roll, threatening to purge itself violently. Just wanting it to be over with, Bella kept her eyes squeezed shut as if it was all just a bad dream and she would wake any moment. She absolutely loved Edward and would go through the test a million times to free him, but that didn't mean she would like it.

The doctor pulled her hand away, extracting her fingers and pulled off the glove. "All right. We're done for the day."

"She's a virgin?" Detective Munch asked stepping forward as she confirmed the information.

Turning to the detective, the doctor nodded and revealed, "her hymen's still partially intact and with the way she tensed, I'd say no one has ever touched her intimately before, nor does it look like a doctor has ever examined her before. And before you ask, I think the slight tearing of her hymen was due to a bike accident or something similar when she was younger."

"Can we go now?" Bella pleaded, sitting up with the privacy blanket on her lap. Edward had to help her slightly, but neither minded the physical contact from the other.

"I don't see any reason to keep you here," the doctor reasoned with an indulgent smile.

As the doctor washed her hands, the officer watched Bella's and Edward's interaction and reactions closely. She watched the loving attention Edward paid Bella even when she wasn't paying attention. The small, lingering touches were shared frequently by both and the looks were those that two people in such an intimate and all consuming relationship shared that the detective had only seen in those raunchy, unrealistic romantic comedies and in the cheesy erotica books she loved. It was very clear to her that Edward and Bella were very much in love and anyone who couldn't see it was absolutely bat shit blind.

If the detective hadn't been watching as closely as she had, she would have missed the raised scars on the teenager's hip. "What are those?" the detective asked stepping closer to Bella, motioning to her hip.

"Nothing," Bella answered quickly as she covered them up. She was embarrassed about the scars she had on her body and didn't want a complete stranger snooping around, trying to decode her like a damn puzzle.

Edward stepped around to the front of Bella and softly asked, "Love?"

Shaking her head, Bella earnestly replied, "It's nothing, just something my uncle thought I should remember, that's all. It's nothing. Really," Bella reassured them, though she couldn't meet their eyes. Knowing he wouldn't get anything else from her, Edward dropped the subject, but he would definitely bring it up later. He needed answers, even if only one or two.

"All right, why don't we get you home? You're tired, I can tell." Edward asked, brushing Bella's hair away from her face again. Nodding, Bella slumped against Edward's chest, just realizing how tired she actually was. Edward quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head into the crook of his neck. "I know, Little Love. We're going home now. I promise."

The doctor led the detective out of the room to let Bella dress privately with only Edward's help with the excuse of getting the detective her report now that the exam was finished.

To preserve her privacy and not make her feel uncomfortable, Edward dressed Bella in the same fashion that he undressed her before he helped her back into the wheelchair. Bella had a hard time keeping her eyes open as the adrenaline of the day finally stopped coursing through her veins. As Edward wheeled Bella out to the awaiting family members, he placed a hand on her shoulder to silently tell her he was there and everything would turn out all right in the end. As the Marigold Hotel movie states, "Everything will be all right in the end. If it's not all right, it's not the end."

After an afternoon nap of a few hours, Bella stretched languidly as she groaned and smiled sleepily. The stretch felt all kinds of good as she had been lying in the same position for a good four hours. The yawn that erupted from her lips was large and deep but no less appeasing than the stretch.

Smacking her lips together, she turned to look around the room before she looked back down below her and saw Edward's chest covered with a thin white undershirt. Bella smiled as she could feel the warmth he radiated through the shirt and in her hand that was still placed against his chest. Human contact; it felt good.

As she drew different nonsensical shapes on Edward's torso, she went over the different things that had happened earlier. She had been so close to losing Edward. The thought of Edward leaving nearly broke her heart. _How could she not go one day without seeing him, talking to him, touching him?_

The hand that grabbed hers made her jump as her eyes searched out his. He was smiling lazily up at her with sleep still in his eyes. "What are you thinking about so hard over there, Little Love? You looked determined, yet scared."

Bella smiled down at Edward as she lay down beside him again and held his hand tighter in hers. "I was just thinking about what could have happened earlier. I don't know what I would have done without you. " She leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, surprising him. Bella didn't initiate physical contact much, and it still surprised him when she did. He was thankful for her coming out of her shell more and more each day. It was a relief to him to know that her aunt and uncle hadn't broken her completely while in their care. Sure she had been numb and barely living, but Edward was doing his damndest to make sure she came out and lived life to the fullest. He wanted her to get everything she every desired and wanted. He wanted her to finally be happy.

Hiking her leg up across Edward's thighs, Bella snuggled in even closer with her arm flung across his chest, trying to burrow herself into him as close as humanly possible, needing reassurance that he was still there with her. The warm breath of her sigh wafted over his thinly covered chest as he wrapped one hand around her shoulders so her head was using it as a pillow while the other came up and landed on her hip as he pulled her closer to him and sighed in contentment.

While his thumb was caressing Bella's hip, he felt the raised scars that Detective Munch had noticed during the examination earlier. Ghosting his thumb over the protruding scars a time or two more, he quietly asked into her hair, "What happened? You said something about your uncle not wanting you to forget something?"

Sighing heavily, Bella sat up again next to Edward and rolled the waist of her pants down to her hip to show him what he wanted to know. She knew this would be a big step for her to reveal something so incredibly personal about herself, but she knew she had to take that leap otherwise they would never move past embarrassment and nervousness.

Bella pulled the tail of the shirt up to reveal crudely shaped scars in the letters COW. The moment Edward saw what was etched into her peaches and cream skin, he jumped like he had been burned. "Your uncle did this to you?" he asked horrified.

All Bella could do was nod as her mouth couldn't properly form words. The touch of the tips of his fingers against her marred skin sent shockwaves throughout Bella's body as she shivered violently as she gasped out. "Oh!"

Green eyes snapped up to Bella's brown ones as he gauged her reaction to his intimate touch. Her breathing was slightly accelerated as she watched with unfocused eyes as his fingers lightly traced the imperfections on her otherwise perfect skin. His touch felt like a small gust of air as it caressed her warm skin.

"Why COW? Did he tell you?" Edward asked with a small whisper. Anything louder would have destroyed the atmosphere in the room.

With a jerky, uncoordinated nod, Bella whispered, "He said I was fat. I was a little overweight back then, but not by more than about ten pounds. With everything that had been happening, I thought I was doing well, but he forced me down on the kitchen counter one night and decided I needed to remember not to be so greedy. He told me I needed to lose weight and leave something for the rest of them, that I was disgusting and that there was no excuse for my behavior. He said I needed to learn how to not eat so much…" Bella sniffled as she looked at his fingers against her skin once more.

"How are you not completely dead inside? Everything you've lived through," he murmured in awe. "Anyone else would have given up long ago. How do you keep going each and every day without going crazy?"

Covering her hip up again, Bella laid on the bed next to Edward again, but was hesitant to move closer. She didn't know how he was taking the scars. But when he pulled her close to his body again, almost as they had been laying before with her head in the crook of his neck with her leg thrown over his thighs, his hand on her hip and the other wrapped around so it was laying on her back for comfort, she sighed in relief. He wasn't pulling back because of the scars.

"I'm not dead inside because now I have you. I have something to look forward to each time I wake up in the morning, each time I see you walk into a room, every time you smile at me or do the stupidest things for me, like buy me the batman duck. The things you don't have to do but you do anyway…everything that you do…you always seem to know just what I need at that moment…" Bella felt herself choking up with emotions and said the only words she could get out. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Little Love. I have you now too to lave with attention and presents, yes, even the stupid little ones that are just space fillers like Bat Duck. You're never getting rid of me, Bella. I love you too much to just let you go without a fight."

"Then I'll be right there by your side fighting with you. For us," Bella whispered back as she gripped Edward's shirt in her hand as if she thought he would suddenly disappear if she weren't clutching to him for dear life.

"You know it's not true, right?" Edward asked, almost scared of her answer. He was learning he never got the answer he was expecting out of the woman next to him, curled up in his side. "You know you're not a cow, right?"

Bella nodded into his side as she yawned. "I know. I've always known, but it doesn't make what he said or did any easier. He was my family. I know he was hurting since he lost all three children at the same time, but I lost everyone. I had no one. I was hurting too and he chose not to see it. All he and my aunt thought about were themselves and how they were affected by everything. They were my last living family and they just gave me away after abusing me for four years. How does one do that to their own flesh and blood? I don't get it."

"I don't either, Little Love. I don't know how someone could hurt a wonderful girl like you. It's beyond all comprehension for me. Just thinking about how much they've hurt you, I want to go and kill them again myself."

Turning her head to look at Edward, she quickly pecked his lips, surprising both of them at her forwardness. Finally Edward smiled brightly down at her as she smiled shyly back up at him. They could both feel her skin heating from the blush that colored her cheeks.

Pulling her closer to his side in a desperate attempt to merge their bodies as one, he held her as they both slowly drifted off to sleep in each other's arms with whispered love and silent promises of better futures now that some of the walls had been broken down between them.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank TwiSNFan for the wonderful Beta work; she's a miracle worker, if there ever was one. You can all thank TwiSNFan for keeping me motivated to write this story when some are killing the spirit. This is a story, it's supposed to be fun, please keep it that way.**

**You can also thank silverblossom (or silverblossom1 on TWCS) for getting this chapter out now. She bribed with one of her stories. Go check her stuff out, it's all good. (Just remember it's mostly all rated M and NC-17, so please keep that in mind.)**

**Write a review if you want, but if you're going to be rude or slam me in any way, don't bother. I don't want to hear it. I do read each and every review, whether I respond to them or not is a different story.**

**I now have a Facebook group under the name Mafia Bargains or a page by the name of Jo Cullen, I know, original, but it works. If you want on, just send me an invite thingie. I'm not the greatest with facebook, but I'm trying to learn.**


	19. Chapter 19

***Gasp! What is this I see? A new chapter?***

**A/N: Sorry for the long ass wait for this chapter. My computer and external storage unit crapped out and I lost everything. EVERYTHING. On top of that, since the beginning of the year, my mom went in for five different surgeries so she could start dialysis. And that was just my mother. So on top of having to drive her everywhere, my dad just got out of surgery a week ago, so now I've been driving him everywhere he needs to go too. It's been a bit crazy around here the past couple of weeks. So, here's third second version of this chapter since I had to rewrite it. I didn't like one portion of the chapter, so I chucked it and started from scratch. This version I'm more at peace with. I don't know when the next update will come, but as you can probably tell, things are a little hectic right now. I'll do my best to try and get it out to you guys soon, just don't come at me with pitch forks if it's not immediate like it was in the beginning.**

**And, for those who are asking me if I'm going to, or have already abandoned this story, the answer is no. When I first started this, I made myself a promise that I would finish this because I've run into too many stories that have been abandoned that I loved. I will never do that to my readers. Under no circumstances, except maybe death, would I ever abandon this story.**

**For the guest that asked, the last chapter, I would assume to be late February, early March. This chapter skips time a little bit and takes place mid June (Edward's birthday).**

**Now, onto the longest chapter to date to say thank you for those who have stuck with me through the wait and to say 'I'm sorry' for making you wait as long as you have.**

**Now, as I promised some of you-**

**_Not quite a lemon in this chapter! We'll just call it a lime! You have been warned!_**

**Now, for the usual, I am not SM, nor will I ever be, therefore, I don't own Twilight, though I'd love to. No, I take that back, I'd just like to own Edward, maybe even Carlisle.**

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><p>Time seemed to fly by without any other major problems and life altering events and soon it was the beginning of June; only a few short weeks until Edward's 26th birthday on the twentieth. Edward being Edward kept the information to himself, hoping no one would make a big deal about it and knowing Alice was planning something. She always did. There was absolutely no thwarting Alice and her plans to celebrate.<p>

As February had turned to March, Bella continued to grow stronger as she was able to finally walk without any help. Her portions were still small when she would eat with the rest of the family, but she was slowly able to come off the liquid foods and go to mushy foods. She would always complain to Edward that the food she was given all looked like baby food and didn't taste much better, never complaining in front of the others.

The search for Marcus was still on strong and it seemed to everyone that he just up and vanished because there was little to no trace of him after the night of the drive by. Senior was determined to finally catch up with Marcus and end his life for what he had put his family through. No one got away with hurting a single hair on any of the Cullen's' heads and make no mistake, Bella was a Cullen through and through.

When March slowly turned to April, the snow outside covering everything from rooftops to the street below the apartment slowly melted but there was still a chill in the air. The wind was a cold wind with a nip that would turn your nose and cheeks a rosy color if you were outside too long.

Even though things were warming up outside, inside the Cullen's large, multistory apartment, things were as icy as ever. Elizabeth had all but given up trying to get to know Bella and had gone back to her old way of ignoring her while Scully sneered at the poor young girl every chance she got without getting caught. She even cornered Bella in one of the hallways and started berating her and putting her down while she tried to tell Bella that Edward truly did belong with Tanya and he would realize it before long. Not wanting to cause anymore drama in the household, Bella didn't tell anyone what was happening between Scully and her. Bella didn't want to give Elizabeth any more reason to hate her. However, one day while Scully had her up against the wall, trying to cower away from the snarling, angry, rabid woman, Rose came into the hallway on her way to the woodshop on the second floor to meet up with Emmett and saw what was happening.

After a few choice words and a shove towards the elevator, Rose helped Bella to stand up off the wall and took her back into her and Edward's room where Bella immediately climbed into the bed and curled into a safe ball. She passed out hard for the rest of the afternoon while Rose sat against the headboard with Bella's head in her lap and ran her fingers through the soft, strawberry smelling locks, cooing softly that everything was going to be all right.

Rose must have told Edward and Edward must have had words with both Scully and Aro because Scully never went near Bella again, though she did start glaring at her from across the room again.

Once April turned into May, Bella was able to eat small portions of solid foods like the rest of the family. As she continued to get stronger, Bella would often find herself in one of the art rooms with another family member. The one she visited most was Alice who would chatter about nothing important as she worked on her latest design and Bella worked on her quilt. Each day brought her closer and closer to finishing the quilt and she felt her excitement rise at the thought of taking it into her bedroom to show the finished product to Edward. The colors of blue, green and purple would work nicely in their room. It would look lovely at the foot of their bed.

In addition to the quilt and other art projects she was completing with the other family members, Bella found herself in the library quite often. The days she had a headache, left over from the drive-by months before according to her doctor, she would find a quiet couch on one of the library levels and curl up to read the story. More often than not, Edward would find her passed out with the book either on her chest or on the floor, wherever her arm fell, dropping the book as she succumbed to sleep. He would always watch her for a moment or two, sometimes brush some hair locks out of her face before he'd scoop her up and take her into their bedroom where he would tuck her back into bed.

As her doctor had predicted, some days Bella would inevitably wake up a little while later screaming in terror. When Bella first came home from the hospital, the nightmares had gripped her almost every single night, but with time and talking things out with Edward, they had slowed to every other night, then every third night before they came only once a week. At that point in time, unless Bella was under a lot of stress, they would come once every other week or so.

Watching Bella wake up, drenched in sweat, heart beating wildly, a terrified look in her eyes as she looked around to see if she had escaped the horror in her dreams was heart wrenching to Edward each and every time. Each time Bella would have a nightmare; Edward would try and hold her once she woke up, making sure she knew she was safe, the entire family was safe, that everything would be okay and he loved her. The doctors said the night terrors went together with PTSD from the drive by.

Finally May turned to June, Bella's wound had at last healed over. It went from the open wound to a scab and then to a bright pink angry looking scar. The scar would forever be etched into her skin and memory. The physical therapy from the other family members to help her walk for longer periods of time had all but ended as she could walk, jump, run and play again. She was just happy she didn't have to rely so much on the others anymore. She still leaned on Edward emotionally and physically every now and then, but she was learning there was no problem in doing so, especially when she really needed it.

Except for the day to the courthouse then the hospital, Bella was still unable to leave the apartment due to her fears and having learned of Edward's upcoming birthday from Esme, had secretly started ordering various different presents she thought he would like. They ranged from simple things like a certain pair of socks he liked to an elaborate looking stereo system. Bella knew nothing of the stereo system in their bedroom, but after examining it, Emmett said the speakers would in fact work with the top of the line new one she had just ordered. However, even though she had been ordering a number of impersonal material things, she did add a few homemade, more personal items, like the quilt she had finally finished a week prior, to tell him she did in fact love him.

When Edward had to leave Bella a couple of days before his birthday, Bella took the opportunity to wrap his presents. Just as she was taping the last fold on the last present, Alice knocked on the door and came in with a giddy smile on her face.

"Hey Alice, what can I help you with?" Bella asked with a chuckle as she finished cleaning up her mess.

Dancing over to the brunette, Alice replied, "I have a huge favor to ask. You can say no if you want to."

When Bella looked at Alice, she saw the large puppy dog eyes the smaller girl was giving her and nodded. Normally, the sad, puppy dog eyes wouldn't work on Bella, but today for some reason she was in an exceptionally giving mood. "What's the favor?"

"I need help making one of Edward's gifts. It's perfect for him. But I don't have the recipe and I don't want to burn anything."

_So Alice wanted to cook Edward something_, Bella thought. As she gathered the presents and went to hide them in her closet where Edward was sure not to find them, Bella asked, "and what will you need my help cooking today, Miss Alice?"

"Well," Alice said, "I want to make him a batch of truffles because I know he absolutely loves them and we all had fun making them the last time, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to make something that not only tasted good, but gave him good memories. What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Will you help me?"

Bella watched with an amused smile as her friend bounced on the balls of her feet with her pent up nervous energy. Finally laughing, Bella shook her head and answered, "He'll love it. What kinds are we making?"

"Really?" Alice's face lit up like she had just won the lottery. She squealed as she reached over to hug her tightly. "You'll really help me?"

"Yes, Pixie."

"Oh thank god! I didn't know if I was going to have to run out and get a different gift or what. I mean, I know I already have a couple wrapped and ready to go, but still, I wanted something more, you know? It doesn't feel like a lot and I wanted to let him know that I really do like him as my brother-in-law and whatnot-" Alice rambled excitedly.

"Pixie! Take a deep breath and tell me, what flavors do you want to make for him?" Bella asked mid rant making Alice's excitement come to a halt.

"Oh, well, I was hoping we could make a few, you know, so he has some variety. Variety is the spice of life and all that. I mean, if it's okay with you. I know it'll take time out of your schedule and everything," Alice replied with large, pleading eyes.

Nodding, Bella grabbed a pen and a piece of paper before jotting down some stuff they'd need. "Flavors?" she asked again as she looked over at her bouncing friend.

"Well," Alice thought. "I was thinking some sort of berry, like raspberry or blackberry or something, maybe an alcoholic drink or something, you know something off the wall that still has some booze in it because then he'd be able to still be all macho in front of his family while eating fruity sweets. Though, I don't think that's an issue for Emmett. He doesn't care what anyone thinks, especially about what he's eating." The two girls giggled at the truth of Alice's statement. "I was hoping to also get like a mint type of truffle, you know maybe like a junior mint or something? Do you think he'd like those?"

"Absolutely," Bella agreed as she looked down at her paper again. "How about raspberry, a mudslide with Kahlua and maybe like a crème de menthe? The alcohol would mostly burn off in the mint one. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" Alice nodded enthusiastically. "Those sound amazing! Are you able to help me make those today? I know the guys are out until at least dinner, so we'd have plenty of time to make them without him finding out."

"All right," Bella replied as she linked her arm with Alice's and made their way down to the kitchen.

When they made it into the kitchen, Alice whirled around and asked, "All right, what do we have to do first?"

"Find if we have all the ingredients or if we need to send someone out to get them. Can you check under the counter over there," Bella said pointing to the other side of the kitchen. "For the chocolate moulds. Pick out a few you like and fit with Edward's personality and likes and set them on the island, please."

"You bet'cha'" Alice giggled as she glided across the room to do as she was told.

Bella immediately started gathering the other ingredients they would need for the three types of truffles but couldn't find the raspberry jam in either the cupboard or the refrigerator, though she found everything else she needed.

As they started melting down the first two types of chocolate, Banner walked into the apartment. Noticing him, Bella quickly rounded the kitchen island and made her way over to him as Alice continued stirring the melting chocolate.

"Mr. Banner! How are you this fine morning?"

The gruff, old man cracked a slight smile at the young woman before him and nodded once. "I reckon I'm doing well, Miss Bella. How about yourself? Not getting into too much trouble around here, are you?"

Smiling brighter, Bella nodded. "I'm really good. I don't see you around here too much anymore. Is Senior keeping you busy?"

"You know it," Banner replied.

When Bella checked around the room to see if anyone was watching them, Bella leaned closer to him and conspiratorially whispered, "I think Senior's trying to keep you away from me."

The cheeky grin on Banner's face made him look a good ten years younger than normal. "Ah, you know just what to say to make this old man feel young again." Bella rolled her eyes at Banner's antics as she shook her head. "Now I'm assuming you didn't just come over to say hi. What can I do for you?"

A blush covered Bella's cheeks at being caught red handed. "Well, I was wondering if you would mind stopping by a store for me, only if you have the time and if you're going to be around one to begin with-"

"Where?" He asked with a smile.

"Well, I was hoping you could stop by a grocery store. I need some cream and some raspberry jam."

"You got it, I'll swing by on my way back from taking Senior to his appointment."

"Thank you! You're the best!" Bella laughed as she hugged him and went back into the kitchen, leaving a stunned and frozen Banner in her wake. She seemed to have that effect on at least most of the Cullen's and their staff.

"So, time for a little girl talk," Alice said as she looked up at Bella. "Are you getting along with Edward still?"

"Yes! Of course we're getting along! Why would you even ask something like that?" Bella asked, shocked.

"So you haven't had your first fight yet? I know you're still in your honeymoon phase and all, but I was just wondering if you did something that annoyed him to death or if he did something you couldn't stand. Start talking. I want the details. Come on. Don't be shy. Tell Auntie Alice all about it."

Bella shook her head and rolled her eyes in exasperation. She continued to stir the cream filling for the mint truffle and told her friend, "We're fine. There's nothing about him that annoys me."

"Just wait, there will be something soon. It's the honeymoon period, once that ends, you'll find the little things are the ones that annoy you. Everybody does. And how's the sex?" Alice asked as she looked at Bella as if she was going to tell her the meaning of life.

Spluttering loudly, caught off guard, Bella didn't know what to tell her. There was no sex. There probably wouldn't be any sex for a while, too, because she didn't feel comfortable with that yet. Granted, Edward and Bella had come a long way, making long strides in affection, trust and making touch a good thing as opposed to a bad thing, but they still weren't there.

Sad understanding lit Alice's features as she interpreted Bella's reaction. If it had been anyone else who had merely been shy about sex, well, Alice might have pushed for more details and tidbits, but since Alice knew some of what Bella was trying to overcome due to her ugly past, Alice simply made her way around the island, hugged her tight before telling her, "It'll get better. I promise. And Edward is the perfect one for you. He's patient and loving. I can see the way he is with you when you're together." She shook her head at her scared friend and revealed, "I haven't seen him like that with anyone else, ever. I don't think he would be able to with anyone else. Yes, he's nice to Rose and Esme and me, but he has a certain softness when you're around that only you can bring out, like with Jasper and me, or Rose and Emmett or even Esme and Carlisle. He loves you very much and all of us can see it in his eyes. You're the lucky girl that caught not only Edward's eye, but also his heart and I don't think he would ever, could ever hurt you."

When Alice leaned back from their hug, she noticed the tears accumulating in Bella's eyes and smiled sadly at her again. "There. That's all I'm going to say about that. Just know if you ever need to talk to someone, Rose, Esme and I are always right here. If we're out shopping that day or something, just call us, you have our numbers and we'll come rushing back to help you through whatever you need help with. Okay?"

Nodding, Bella whispered out a broken, "Thanks." Alice patted Bella's back and went back to her side of the island to continue stirring the ingredients.

Alice was putting the moulds into the refrigerator a while later when she paused mid movement. She saw a jar on the door and asked, "Bella? I found some strawberry jam and some blueberry jam. Oh! Here's some peaches! Could we do something with those? Would that work for some of them? Can we make more types?" The smile she gave Alice was enough to know she did well.

Wiping her hands, Bella waved her over and answered, "I'm sure we can find something for those to go in." Alice put the moulds on the shelf, grabbed the jars and walked back over to the island where they were working and handed it over to her.

The two girls spent the rest of the day making truffles, giggling and talking about anything that came to mind. Bella would be the first to admit, she did gossip with Alice, maybe just a little bit, even though she tried not to on a daily basis, Alice just had to share some things with her. It was fun to finally just relax, do something that didn't scare her or require thinking. It was a day to just relax and be herself.

By the end of the day, instead of making just the three flavors they had originally agreed upon, Alice and Bella had produced ten in all different shapes and colors. Alice was even giddier than usual; excited that Edward would absolutely love the present. A present she helped make. Yes, she was always tremendously excited to give people she knew gifts just to see how they lit up with happiness, but this was completely different. She actually made the gift, granted with a little help from Bella to make sure everything was how it should be. She put time and effort into making each truffle exactly perfect, she didn't just go out to the store and buy them like she normally would have. There was another level to her excitement that she had never experienced before.

The chocolates had all been packaged in plain white boxes and stored in the back on the bottom shelf of one of the refrigerators where no one would find them before the next day. Alice would have to come in and wrap them sometime the next day before putting them back. She'd take them out right before everyone was to give Edward the presents they picked out.

The day of Edward's birthday, he and Bella holed themselves up in their room for most of the day, refusing to come out when Alice, Esme, Carlisle and even Rose came to try and coax - or in Rose's case, force - them downstairs so they could celebrate Edward's big day with the cake Chef Varner made earlier in the day as well as a big feast.

After the fifth attempt in getting the couple downstairs, Edward locked the doors to their room and sighed in relief. _Nobody could bother them now._ He would go down to join his family when he felt like it, not when others wanted him to.

Edward's twenty sixth birthday was the first one since he turned eighteen, that he was looking forward to celebrating and it all had to do with the beautiful brunette sitting at one of the tables in their room. He finally had a reason to celebrate being a year older.

It was dinner time before Edward opened the doors so Bella and he could go downstairs to join the rest of the family. They had waited until the last possible moment to go downstairs so all they had to do was take their seats at the dining room table to start dinner.

Varner had made all of Edward's favorites. Pot roast with baked potatoes and steamed vegetables all cooked to perfection. The meat was tender and seasoned perfectly, the potatoes were still moist and the vegetables were still slightly crunchy with a touch of seasoning and lemon drizzled over the top of them. Overall, everyone's mouth watered as they looked at the food before them on the table.

Food was passed around and dished up, drinks were poured and everybody was eating before everything started going downhill.

"Instead of hogging him to yourself all day in your bedroom, you should have let him come down here, Bella, to be with his family," Elizabeth remarked offhandedly as she scooped some food onto her fork, shoved it in her mouth and looked over at Bella, who quite incidentally looked like a deer caught in some headlights with her full fork halfway to her mouth.

"Mother," Edward scolded. "I didn't come down here because I didn't want to. She wasn't the one who forced me to stay up there. I stayed up there because I wanted to. Now knock it off."

"But Edward, it's your birthday and we're just now getting to see you? It's dinner time!" Elizabeth screeched across the table at him.

"Knock it off, Elizabeth. He's not twelve anymore. He can choose how he spends his day and who he spends it with," Senior replied as he continued to eat as if nothing had happened. Elizabeth's outbursts were becoming more and more common at the dining table and at that point all anyone wanted to do was to get dinner over with so they wouldn't have to hear her throw a tantrum.

"But ever since _she_," Elizabeth spat as she gestured over towards Bella with a scowl on her face, "showed up, my baby boy doesn't want anything to do with me. He barely even sees me anymore! How can I just sit by and allow her to take over him? He won't even listen to me anymore! She's a bad influence!"

"Quiet mother," Edward said.

"See!?" Elizabeth screeched again as she rounded on Senior to get him to see her point and to do something about it. "See what she's doing to my poor baby boy? She's turning him against his mother! And all I wanted to do was to spend his birthday with him!"

"Maybe if you'd not demand what I do every two seconds, I'd want to spend more time with you," Edward thought aloud. "Or maybe if you're home more often instead of hitting the summer sales at the store, I might talk with you more. But most of all, if you'd stop insulting my wife, maybe I'd be more willing to talk to you, but you still don't get it. I am married to Bella. She is my wife. I am her husband. In no way, shape or form am I ever going to divorce her and before you even say anything, I would rather chop off my own dick before I am forced to be with that shrew, Tanya, that you think is so perfect for me. Not in a million years. Get over it. What's done is done. I'm not willing to change it so you need to accept it. Now that my appetite is gone, can we get things over with? I'm not in the mood to deal with much more tonight."

"Yeah son," Senior replied as he stood up with his plate and headed into the kitchen with Edward and Bella following behind.

"But I wasn't finished!" Elizabeth yelled from the dining room.

Senior sighed and shook his head as he rolled his eyes. "Yes you are Elizabeth. If you don't want to ostracize your son, you are. He's not going to do what you tell him to do about his marriage. He doesn't care who you think might be better for him. He wants Bella, that's all that matters. Now stop being so petty."

With one look, Senior could tell Bella was disheartened by what she said. Once he deposited his dishes in the sink, he walked over to Bella and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a fatherly gesture. "Don't listen to what she says. She's just a bitter old harpy. She's definitely not the woman I married so long ago. I don't know what happened to make her so harsh in her old age. I promise you nobody but her and Sculpicia think that, and that's only because they're both shallow people and they want another shallow person in the family so they can go shopping with and gossip to. It has nothing to do with you. Try not to let it bug you. You're a good person."

"Thank you," Bella whispered.

Edward smiled as he watched his father with Bella. They had a unique relationship. It was almost like they needed one another on some strange level. Senior was the father Bella lost at an early age and Bella was the daughter Senior never had. He was thankful at least one of his parents took a liking to Bella; otherwise it would have been hell, even more so than it already was.

"Come on you two," Carlisle said as he came in with his and Esme's plates to put in the sink. "You have to open your presents and then you can go back into hiding." The smile on his face told the couple that he didn't harbor any ill feelings towards them for hiding out in their room the entire day. "I wouldn't have done the same thing myself, Edward, because you know that no matter what you do, nothing is ever going to be good enough for her."

"I know," he sighed. "Let's go and get this over with."

They all walked out of the kitchen and into the family room where the others were already sitting comfortably on the couches and armchairs around the room. Elizabeth made Edward sit in the spot that was center of the room and tried to push Bella out of the way so she and Sculpicia could sit on either side of him, but he wasn't having that. He kept Bella close to him as he sat down. Hell, if one of them wouldn't move, he'd have her sit on his lap to try and get his point across. Luckily, Sculpicia decided that it wasn't worth the fight that would ensue and moved back over to where Aro was settled and sat next to him on a loveseat. Elizabeth scowled at her before turning the scowl over to Bella, who was sitting right next to Edward now.

Looking on as Edward opened presents, Bella wondered if some of his family even knew him. Instead of getting big, expensive, elaborate gifts like Elizabeth got him, or the designer names Sculpicia got him, or the gift card Aro go him, Edward would have been happy with the simple things.

Edward was happiest when opening the smaller, more meaningful gifts that were bought or made with him in mind, that catered to his likes, dislikes and needs. He was all smiles when he opened Esme's gifts of paintbrushes, blank canvases and a famous painting by someone called Gigi something-or-other. It was some French person Bella had never heard of before.

The impersonal gifts from Sculpicia infuriated Bella. Sculpicia had known the family for nine years already and she'd been in the family for seven and she got Edward a set of platinum cufflinks and a gaudy gold chain? _Granted, she probably didn't spend a lot of time with Edward or talking about Edward, _Bella reasoned since she knew very little about Aro. But still, why on earth would she buy those for him? First, Edward didn't wear jewelry, except maybe a gold wedding band and his watch, but that's it. Second, Edward doesn't wear platinum. He likes color in his jewelry, that's why his wedding band matches Bella's wedding band and engagement band. Inlaid in the gold band were different colored diamond chips; blue, green and purple with only a single white diamond in the very center of the colorful stones.

After Scully's gifts, Emmett managed to wedge his gifts in the right spot so his gifts were next- to the dismay of their mother who wanted Edward to open her gifts next. Bella was happy to see that someone had actually put some thought into what Edward might like for his birthday. Emmett got him a lot of paint, paint thinner to clean his brushes once he was done and some targets for shooting. They were unusual targets with a man standing there with an Account's book and a diamond necklace in the other. Bella guessed it was mob standard issue targets or something.

Disappointed that Edward hadn't already opened her gifts, Elizabeth thrust her gifts to Edward while telling him to open them. One of the packages contained two dress shirts in colors that would clash with Edward's coloring while the other box held a package of monogrammed handkerchiefs. Who the hell used handkerchiefs anymore, let alone carried them around? What really confused Bella was the fact Elizabeth looked so proud of her gifts, like she had put so much time into thinking them up, yet none of them matched Edward's personality or needs. It made no sense.

Aro's presents weren't much better. An expensive, over the top money clip that Edward would never use and a gift card to a local steakhouse with just enough money on it for two people to have a nice dinner. Where was the thought in that? How Aro thought the gifts meshed well with Edward, Bella had absolutely no idea.

At least with Carlisle's gifts he geared it more towards Edward's hobbies. There was a very large amount on an i-Tunes gift card but he didn't stop there. Carlisle went out of his way to go to one of the local bookstores and picked up a few books he knew Edward didn't have and was looking for. Bella could tell He took into consideration Edward's likes and dislikes and actually made an effort to get a couple of presents that were solely based on him.

When Edward opened Jasper's gifts, he nodded over to him in thanks because a few days previous, Edward had run out of the clear sealer he used for his painting and made the mental note to go buy some more. With the amount Jasper had gifted to him, he wouldn't need any for a while. Jasper also gave him some painting books. Some were on the techniques different painters use while others were books on famous paintings and their history and unique tidbits. Needless to say, Edward didn't have them and was really looking forward to digging into them if the happy little gleam in his eyes were any signal.

Rosalie must have known Edward needed more, because one of her gifts was a few more packets of sheet music for his piano. She also included a book of piano music he didn't have. Bella knew he would definitely be using them shortly. He always snuck away to play for a few minutes while she was in the shower or preoccupied with something else. And boy did he love that piano. If Bella didn't know any better, she would have thought he was escaping to meet up with someone for a torrid affair, but he was just sneaking up to his music room for a little bit of stress relief.

Feeling his fingers flying across the ivory keys allowed Edward to relax and finally rest his mind like nothing else could. That was one of the only things he was thankful to his mother for, the piano and lessons when he was younger. She found him in one of her friend's houses sitting at the piano, tapping the keys and stringing together a few notes that sounded good and that's when she knew he would be radiant. That was pretty much the only thing Elizabeth and Bella agreed on. Edward was bloody brilliant with the keys on his piano.

The moment Edward opened Alice's two plain white boxes and saw the truffles, he grabbed an orange cowboy hat shaped one and popped it into his mouth before moaning loudly and unabashedly. The peach juice added to the cream and the peach chunks burst onto his tongue. There was nothing quite like the truffles Bella made and he knew Bella had a hand in making them since Alice couldn't cook to save her life.

"Dude, that sounds like the only action you've been getting lately, if that's how you react to a piece of candy," Emmett quaffed loudly, teasing his brother while simultaneously making Bella blush cherry tomato red.

A loud, resounding smack was heard throughout the room as Rose hit her husband and overgrown child on the back of his head for making Bella uncomfortable. "No, but that's the only action you'll be getting for a long time, if you don't stop it right now."

"Hey!" Emmett protested as he rubbed the back of his head where she hit. "What did I do?"

Rose raised her eyebrow and pointedly looked over at Bella who was looking down at her fidgeting hands in her lap and said, "You're making people uncomfortable. Stop."

"Sorry," Emmett apologized sheepishly.

As Edward passed around the boxes of chocolates to the rest of his family, he asked, "What is each of the flavors?"

"Pink is strawberry, red is raspberry, blue is blueberry, purple is boysenberry, brown is chocolate, the speckled white one is vanilla, the green one is like a junior mint one with Crème de Menthe, the plain white is Kahlua and cream and the orange is peach, but it has peach chunks in it, and the white is pineapple with chunks in it," Alice answered quickly as she pointed to each of the different types. "Bella and I started out only wanting to make three types, but we got started and we kept finding different flavors we could use and we were having a blast, so we kept going and going. And, well, it looks like you reaped the benefits." She was bouncing her seat next to Jasper as she explained why there were so many. "Oh, the rest are still in the fridge. I only wrapped two boxes with a few of each kind in them, but we made a good two dozen out of each of the different flavors, so you should be stocked for a while yet."

"Thank you," Edward mumbled around another truffle. "To both of you." He smiled at Alice with his cheeky grin and beat her to her question. "Alice, you can't cook or bake to save your life, it's obvious Bella helped you, but it's the thought that counts. Thank you. These are so good."

Senior slid his presents over to his youngest from across the table. Edward caught them deftly before pulling out a switchblade from his pants to cut the ribbons off to get into them. The top was a simple envelope stating that Senior had put quite a few boxes of ammo up in his office so Edward would have to deal with them the next day. The next package contained two guns, a Glock and a Smith and Wesson. Both were black and sleek and very masculine, though Bella remembered learning to shoot with a Glock a few years back with her dad. And the final package was a large tackle box with everything a person could want in a gun cleaning kit.

The memories a single kit could bring back to Bella startled her. She could vividly remember watching her dad clean his gun for hours on the floor of the garage. She could still after all these years, smell the solvents, and hear the small scrapings of metal on metal. He would methodically pull the heap of metal apart piece by piece, laying them on a soft rag before him before he would take everything he would need from his beat up old rusty red tackle box he had owned forever and set them each on another cloth to the side. Then he would pick up each of the gun pieces and slowly clean every single piece of grime off before putting it back in its place on the cloth. When each piece was cleaned, he would show Bella how to put the gun back together, what parts needed to be oiled and how to make sure everything was in its proper place before he racked the chamber back, signaling everything was done. It would take hours, especially if he either had more than one gun to clean, or if the gun was especially dirty and during that time, she and Charlie would bond. It was their time. _It's amazing how the smallest thing can trigger a memory._

Before long, it was down to just Bella's presents left to open. She handed them over with an exchanged smile and watched as he dug into his presents. To say Edward was happy with the quilt was an understatement. He immediately held it up and started looking at the fine detail. Bella was happy she took her time with each of the different pieces of the quilt. She wasn't rushed through it, which would have made it look sloppy.

With a quick and chaste kiss on her lips, Edward sat back down and opened the bigger box and laughed as he held up a fat rabbit stuffed animal that was dressed as superman. Bella just shrugged with a blush on her cheeks, embarrassed that he opened it in front of the rest of the family, most of whom laughed.

"Now we match. I have Bat Duck and you have Super Rabbit," Bella mumbled sheepishly.

"I love it," Edward laughed with another kiss against her lips.

The final present from Bella required a little bit of an explanation. When Edward opened the box and found a bunch of old dental tools, he looked up at Bella, confused as he held up a few in his hand.

"Did you get him _used_ dental tools?" Elizabeth asked in sheer horror.

"Yes, when a dentist doesn't need them anymore, I go in and scoop them up. It's better than just throwing them away. This way, they're still of good use," Bella defended herself against his mother.

"Why on earth would he need those?" Elizabeth shrieked.

"My father would get them from his old dentist before he died. For the life of him, he couldn't find anything that cleaned his guns perfectly, until he got his hands on some of these. When the dentist would get more from wherever they get them, he would send these back with my dad. My dad always swore by these. He wouldn't trust his guns to anything else. They cleaned your guns faster and left them clean longer. Besides, they were cheaper to get a hold of as opposed to spending thousands on cleaning kits every year. It just worked better for him. I figured you can have a go with them. I'll even show you how to use them if you want. Yes they're used, but it's not like you're going to be putting them in your mouth or anything. They're clean," Bella replied while looking over at Edward, hoping he liked his gift.

The smile on his face let Bella know Edward loved her presents. If a cop, a range instructor no less, used these old dental tools to clean his guns, they must work then.

The family spent the next two hours sitting around in the family room, talking with one another, joking about as they polished off a nice, large chocolate cake Mr. Varner, the chef had made earlier in the day.

"All right everyone, I think it's time Esme and I head up for the night. It's been a long day and tomorrow I have to get to the hospital. Edward, happy birthday, man, I hope you had a good one," Carlisle said as he and Esme stood from the couches and made their way to the elevator.

Soon, everyone was following the lead of Carlisle and Esme, retiring to their rooms for the night, stating they had busy days the next day, leaving Bella and Edward downstairs to their own devices.

"You want to head up to?" Edward asked Bella. Not particularly tired, Bella shrugged and started helping Edward clean up the presents to take upstairs.

As they walked into their bedroom with all Edward's gifts, he looked around and decided he wasn't all that sleepy yet. "I'm not quite ready to call it a night just yet. What do you say to going up to the roof and relaxing for a while in the hot tub, just you and me? How does that sound?" Edward asked as he dropped his birthday gifts off towards the side of the room. He looked back at Bella to gauge her reaction and saw her biting her lower lip from nerves.

Shrugging, Bella mumbled, "If you really want to. I guess I can find a bathing suit that can cover everything. Would I be able to borrow a pair of shorts from you for the bottoms?"

With furrowing eyebrows, Edward asked, "Why would you need a pair of my shorts for your bottoms? Wouldn't you have bottoms with your own suit?"

"I would," Bella confirmed, "But they wouldn't cover everything that I need them to cover. Alice bought all the swimsuits I have, so you know they're more on the revealing side if she chose the ones she wanted to. They wouldn't cover all of my scars-" Bella revealed as she bit her lower lip again and looked down as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

Edward walked over to her and tipped her chin back by a finger under her chin before they locked eyes and he took her shoulders and told her earnestly, "Bella, it's just going to be you and me. I've already seen your scars; I've accepted them as being a part of you. You have nothing to be ashamed about; there is nothing you have to hide from me. You're perfect just the way you are. Do I like them? No," he said as she sucked in a breath and her eyes started watering as tears threatened to fall from her glassy eyes. "I don't like them only because they show me just how much pain you've been in throughout your life, but you don't ever have to hide them from me because they are a part of you. Remember when I agreed to marry you again, you asked if I would take the good and the bad? They're only bad because of the pain you've gone through at the hands of your supposed family members. You're a beautiful woman, Bella, inside and out. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Okay?"

Nodding, Bella breathed out harshly as Edward reached up, cupped her cheeks and brushed the unshed tears from her eyes with the pads of his thumbs. While he watched the emotions play across her face, Bella reached up and cupped her hands over his and held them against her cheeks as she nuzzled them before her eyes closed.

As they stood there in the middle of their bedroom, they reveled in one another, the touch, feel even the smell of one another so close. Having another human being touch her in a nice way was still astounding as she soaked in the warmth of the rough skin of his hand pressing against hers.

"Sure," Bella said after a while as she opened her eyes and looked up at Edward. "I'll go up to the roof with you."

The smile that lit up Edward's face was enough for her to want to get changed into whatever swimsuit contraption Alice had bought when she first got there. That smile made her want to press her inevitable embarrassment to make him happy so she could see that smile on his face again, directed at her.

"I'll meet you right here once you change," Edward promised as he kissed her forehead and went to collect his own suit. Bella took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she turned towards her own closet and braved the unknown.

It was just like any other closet, okay, maybe a little bigger, maybe a lot bigger, but it held the same things as any other closet. On the one side of the closet was all her winter clothes she would need and on the opposite, her spring and summer clothes. Closest to the door on either side were shirts, then pants, then jackets, and last but not least, dresses. Accessories for all seasons were on the very back wall in their own compartments along with all the jewelry Bella could ever imagine. In the middle there was an island like in a kitchen with drawers on either side to hold the loose clothing like underwear, socks, bras, etc.

In the last drawer on the bottom on the spring and summer side held the offending cloth she was terrified to explore. Bella stood to the side as she opened the drawer, scared the clothing would bite her as it was revealed. All different colors and shades with designs assaulted her eyesight as different suits came into her vision.

Bending down to look for a more conservative one, Bella held up a bright pink barely there string bikini and grimaced. It barely had any cloth to it. There was a major problem if the how-to-wash tag was bigger than the actual piece of clothing. Dropping it immediately, Bella's eyes caught onto a swirl of sapphire blue and emerald green. As she picked up the bottoms, she noticed they were full bottoms, granny panties, that covered more than most of the others would. When she decided she could live with that amount of skin showing, she went searching for the top to the bathing suit, hoping, praying it wasn't another barely there string contraption.

Once Bella had changed, she looked in the full length mirror to inspect the suit and more importantly, herself. As it turned out, the only string on the swimsuit was the string of the halter top. The top was actually a tankini top that had the same sapphire and emerald colors swirling around creating a hypnotic design. It was a conservative top by any means. The waist material stopped just at the bottoms so if she was just standing there, it looked like a one piece while the chest cover gave her an abundance of cleavage, yet left quite a bit to the imagination. The straps were held to the bodice of the fabric by a large circular chain loop that had several more loops further up, which the fabric of the strings weaved in and out before tying around the back of her neck.

Overall, the suit made Bella seem taller, paler, and curvier in all the right places. The many scars that littered Bella's pale skin all over her body were barely visible as the eye was pulled towards the bold colors of the swimsuit print rather than the lighter skin. The scars that were visible were on her back, and she wasn't planning to let Edward or anyone else see them while she was vulnerable in barely any clothes.

Sighing in resignation, Bella pulled the lavender colored, soft terrycloth robe on and synched the tie around her waist before stepping back out into the bedroom to see Edward standing there in his black and white Hawaiian printed trunks and a white undershirt with two thick, navy blue towels draped over his arm. He smiled when he saw her and asked, "You ready?"

"If I must," Bella mumbled petulantly to herself but Edward heard it.

Stepping closer to her, he flung the towels on the bed and cupped her cheeks again. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not going to make you."

Bella sighed and replied, "I know. I'm just being stubborn. I haven't been in a bathing suit in years. I feel too exposed."

"If at any time you want to come back in here, just tell me and we will. It's just going to be you and me up there. No one else," Edward assured her.

Again, Bella nodded and bit her lip as Edward leaned down and kissed her forehead before stepping back to grab the towels. When he looked back at her, he had a silly, lopsided grin on his face as he asked, "Now, are you ready?"

"Yes," Bella answered with a definitive nod.

"Good."

They left the bedroom and meandered towards the elevator and took it all the way up. When Bella emerged from the elevator on the roof, her eyes swept across the open space. It was unlike anything she was imagining. The rooftop was littered with potted plants and blooming, colorful flowers making it seem lush and like the backyard of any of the homes just outside the city. Around the perimeter of the rooftop were high railings with small planters decorating them making it seem like a natural edge to the floor as opposed to what it actually was- a harsh drop off.

The flooring was bricked most of the area with four inlaid hot tubs that were sunk into the ground interspersed around the area. On either side of the open area, there was a bar behind the staircases on a little raised platform. Behind each of the bars were glass rooms with expensive, plush looking lawn furniture. On each side of the glass rooms were small bathrooms and small, two person saunas. The entire floor reeked of Esme's understated influence. While being expensive and influential looking it also was unpretentious and modest at the same time.

It was their own secret garden atop a vast city of steel and concrete that only the family knew about. It was the best kept secret in the entire city. There, within the ocean of bleak grey and black shades, sat a garden that held every color imaginable, yearning to make a person's day brighter. Each of the flowers bursting in bloom, growing for the sheer purpose to make people smile with the bold colors and the ever fragrant scent they all permeated. Even a flower shop didn't smell as good as the roof top floor of the Cullen's apartment and it was all thanks to one woman, a woman who delighted in looking after her seeds, watching them go from seeds to little sprouts to fully blossomed flowers.

Bella looked over at Edward with a smile on her face and asked, "Esme?" Without having to say anything, Edward smiled and nodded. There was only one person in the world that could pull everything off.

"It's all so beautiful. She did a spectacular job up here."

"I'll let her know you said that. She'll be happy," Edward said.

"So, what are the rooms?" Bella inquired craning her neck to get a better look at the one they were closest to. "Storage rooms for the lawn furniture or something?"

"Well, this one," he said pointing to the room they were standing next to, "Is what Esme calls the relaxation room. And the other one across the way there is what she calls the sun and rain room. Each of the rooms are used to sit and enjoy the weather, and the glass panes can be turned if you want to enjoy the fresh air, but if it's bad weather, like rain, wind or snow, you can keep them closed and still enjoy the outside. They're mostly used during the spring and summer time, but occasionally one or two of us will come up here during the winter to watch it snow. They're another one of Esme's influences, one I absolutely love to indulge in, if I do say so myself."

"That sounds amazing," Bella breathed.

Edward pulled Bella over to the far hot tub and set their towels on a cushioned lounger nearby before he kicked out of his sandles and reached down to pull his undershirt off.

As the shirt slowly crept up Edward's torso, Bella couldn't tear her eyes away from each inch of skin that was exposed. _It was all hard and chiseled and perfect. How could she not look?_

When Edward's head broke through the other side, he discarded the wad of shirt onto the lounger next to the towels and looked over at Bella only to discover her cheeks were bright, cherry red and her pupils dialated as her eyes scaned over his exposed flesh.

A cocky smirk crept onto his face as he realized she was admiring his lean, muscular body. Walking over to her he watched her closely as her eyes darted all over his chest, unable to pick one point to focus on. When he reached Bella, he gripped the ties to her robe around her waist and slowly pulled so everything came loose. Instead of letting the robe fall to the floor, he grabbed it as it slipped off her shoulder and slowly helped her out of it before throwing it to join his shirt.

His eyes drank in the swimsuit she picked out, grateful that Alice had picked at least one that was more modest; that way Bella wouldn't be completely self concious. The swirling colors of emerald and sapphire made her skin pearlescent and glow while the actual suit covered most of the scars she hated so much. Those colors on her did strange things to him. His hands snaked around her waist and rested on her lower back as he pulled her closer to his body.

Looking up at him, Bella bit her lower lip, unsure of what to do. Edward leaned closer to her and kissed her forehead like he normally did, but let his lips linger against her soft, warm skin as she finally decided to wrap her arms around his waist to hug him back. Her fingertips danced across his lower back with soft, ghosting touches causing him to shiver as he burried his nose in her hair.

After a moment, Edward pulled away and smiled at her as he said, "Come on, time to get in the tub."

Edward helped Bella into the hot tub,making sure she kept her footing and didn't fall before he hopped into the hot tub and settled down opposite of her so he could watch her. Bella's eyes immediately went to the sky to watch the stars as they soaked in the chlorinated water.

As they sat in the pool, enjoying the fresh air of the early night, Bella mused, "I never realized just how beautiful the inside of the city could be, especially from up here. There's no rude people shuffling down the city sidewalks, rushing to get where they're going as they push other people out of their way in their haste, no rude honking from road raged drivers. It's like it's a peaceful bubble up here. It has all the good sides of the city without any of the bad."

"That's why I like it up here. Before you came along, I'd come up here constantly, just to get away from all the lovey-dovey couples in the apartment that surrounded me, but now that I have you, I don't need to escape to a more peaceful, relaxing place. You are my escape."

Bella stared into Edward's eyes for a long moment trying to determine if he was being honest but when she didn't find any deceit, she nodded and looked back up at the stars above.

Jumping when she felt something against her leg, her eyes snapped back over to Edward across the pool from her. He brought her foot up and rested it on his thigh before he started digging into it creating the most pleasurable pressure on her pressure points. Her eyes drooped from the steam of the tub and his touch as she let out a startling loud moan at the wonderful feel.

Once Edward worked all the knots out of that foot, he let it drift back to the floor of the tub before he took Bella's other, neglected foot and pulled it into his lap to lave it with the same treatment as the first.

This time, when he was done massaging her foot, he didn't let it drift to the floor of the tub like the other. He continued up to her ankle and once he deemed that was loose and unknotted; he moved higher to her calf and continued with his ministrations. His touch sent shivers up her spine despite the hot water swirling around them, covering from neck down.

When the massage was done, Edward continued to trail his hands over her calf and foot in soft strokes, unwilling to let her soft skin out of his grasp.

Neither one could deny there was a spark of electricity in the silent air surrounding them. Electricity, they both concluded that had nothing to do with the weather or the wind blowing through the leaves of the various plants around the roof making a soft whistling noise. It seemed to always be there, but not with the intensity of the moment. It was easy to ignore, put in the back of their minds as they carried on with their day to day activities. Now it seemed like it was screaming at them to do something, say something meaningful.

"Here," Edward motioned towards Bella to come closer. Assuming he wanted her closer, she brought her leg back from his lap, rose from her spot and went to sit in the cut out next to him but was pulled onto his lap with a small yelp of surprise. With her back to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

One of Edward's hands was gripping her hip over the raised bumps she hated while the other was gripping her ribcage just under her breast while his thumb lightly traced the fabric over the soft skin of the underside of her breast. Edward heard another squeak from her lips as they sat there peacefully looking up at the stars.

"I'm irked with you," Bella said as she kept her eyes on the stars.

Edward pulled his chin off her shoulder and asked, "And why's that, Little Love?"

Placing her arms over his, her smile broke through the false mask of annoyance she was trying to hold and she responded, "All this time here in the city with you and this is the first time you're bringing me up here? It's so peaceful. Beautiful."

"Well, things have been a tad hectic since you arrived. But I promise from now on I'll try to make an effort to bring you up here more often. How does that sound?"

"Thank you," Bella whispered back. "I'd like that a lot. It's so beautiful up here, especially at night like this."

With a smile, Edward put his chin back onto her shoulder and held her there. "It's not nearly as beautiful as you are."

Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes as she told him, "You don't have to lie to my face, Edward. We're already married."

The hand that was attached to her hip, rubbing his thumb up and down against the fabric of her suit suddenly disappeared and reappeared over the fabric directly over her stomach. His hand snaked its way underneath the loose fabric and splayed out against her soft, warm skin as he tried to explain himself. "You think I'm lying? Why? You are a very beautiful woman. Why would I lie about something like that?"

Shrugging, Bella didn't know what to say. "I don't know. But I just…you don't have to say things like that to me. We're already married, it's not like you have to try that hard. I'm already yours. I can't very well run away."

When Edward sighed, it was loud in the silence surrounding them. "Carlisle always told Emmett, Jasper and I that just because we've gotten married, doesn't mean we can stop with the sweet words, the wooing, the romance, because that is the fastest way to kill a marriage. Well, it seems I've taken that to heart. Even though you're my wife, I'm never going to stop wooing you. We didn't get the regular, typical start to this relationship, so I'm going to make sure you never regret sticking with me. I'm hoping someday you'd like to go out on a date with me, a real date like we should have when we first got together. I know it won't be for a while, but I'm hoping someday."

Bella turned her head to look at Edward and smiled at him. "I think that would be nice. I think I'd like to go on a date, a real date someday. Just the two of us. Without having to worry about our safety or anything."

"Good. I'm going to hold you to that," Edward whispered as his fingers started drawing random shapes against the skin of Bella's stomach before all too soon he concentrated on drawing circles around her belly button.

Looking over her shoulder at Edward, Bella reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, causing it to darken and flatten with the weight of the water that saturated it. She couldn't hold back her smile, but she tried as she bit her lip. "Look, your hair cooperates for me. I think it just doesn't like you."

A low, rumbled growl emanated from Edward's chest. Bella could feel the vibrations from him against her back and side as Edward's arms tightened around her.

"Of course it likes you. Everything that has to do with me likes you more. That's always been the case and I don't ever think that's going to change," Edward whispered as the hand on her ribcage left only to reappear across the top of her chest, splayed fingers, covering as much space as he could reach.

As they stared into one another's eyes, Edward's hand slowly inched from the top of her chest up to cup her neck and pulled her gently in closer to him. When they were breathing each other's breaths Edward leaned forward that last inch that separated them and closed his lips over Bella's.

Immediately Edward could tell the kiss was different from the others they had shared previously. It was more personal, more intimate, more revealing, more personal in comparison. It was tame by anyone's standards but it gave Edward hope as he ran his tongue over her upper lip.

With his hand on the back of her neck, Bella couldn't pull away even if she wanted to. She shuddered as he rubbed his fingers up and down the column of her neck causing her to moan into his lips. She had never felt anything like it before. It scared her to death that Edward had so easily broken through her walls. He alone had the power to hurt her, destroy her. It also excited her at the same time. She was finally taking a chance on someone, trusting him not to hurt her and to keep her heart whole. _But then again, wasn't that what love was all about?_ Bella asked herself as she felt Edward gently nibble on her lip.

Too caught up in one another, they missed their rare chance to wish upon the shooting star that crossed right over the building, but then again, they already had everything they could ever wish for.

The couple stayed out in the hot tub on the roof for another hour and a half before they decided they needed to get their pruney butts inside to get ready for bed for the night. Edward got out first and dried off as best he could before wrapping his towel around himself and holding up the other towel for Bella who made a mad dash from the warmth of the tub to the warmth of the towel he was holding. When she collided with his hard body, he wrapped himself around her as her teeth started chattering slightly and made their way down to their floor and into their bedroom. Each of them went to their separate bathrooms to take a shower and dress in their pajamas.

Still not completely steady on her feet, Bella made use of the ledge in the shower stall. From the lather across her bare body, the strawberry scent swirled into the air joining the steam that had accumulated in the room as if finally meeting a long lost lover and saturating her senses as she washed her hair and body of the chlorine of the hot tub.

People say that scent is one of the most powerful ways to remember a certain memory associated with the smell and it was no different for Bella. The strawberry smell that assaulted her nose immediately had her thinking back to the first few weeks there at the Cullen's' place. A small, unintentional smile lifted her lips as she remembered the shopping trip with Edward where they bought the sweet smelling body wash. How was it that without knowing her, he knew her so well? The uber exclusive designers Alice had been trying to get Edward to buy for her wasn't her style and he knew it. He took her to the mall instead and let her buy what she wanted. Granted, he did buy her some designer things, though she protested loudly, they weren't the same exclusivity as the ones Alice wanted him to get.

From the combination of the jets in the hot tub and the warm water cascading down on her from the shower head, she was decidedly relaxed, if not a little sleepy.

When she felt her skin was squeaky clean, she hopped out of the shower and dried off. She pulled on a black tank top she had found in her pajama drawer in the closet and a pair of sapphire blue shorts that ended just under the crease of her butt. After locating new, white ankle socks, she brushed her teeth and dumped her towel in the dirty clothes hamper and used the restroom.

With the tankini she had been wearing now dripping dry in her shower stall, Bella made sure to clean up the little mess she had made in her bathroom before walking out to find Edward on the floor off to the side of the room. She grabbed her brush and plopped down on the bed to watch Edward work.

"How'd you like your birthday?" Bella asked as she watched from her perch on the bed as she brushed her wet hair through and Edward sat on the floor with his newly acquired presents circling him.

Looking up from his new possessions, Edward smiled at her brightly. "I usually don't like celebrating my birthday, but this year, I did." Standing, Edward made his way over to where Bella was sitting still with a calm, carefree smile on his face.

When he reached his wife, Edward leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. "Thank you for everything. You didn't have to do any of this…"

Bella cupped his cheek and told him, "Yes, I did. You're my husband. Besides, I like seeing that smile on your face. The one that says you don't have a care in the world because you're happy. You light up when you smile like that."

Smiling brighter, Edward kissed her lips again quickly, tucked a lock of stray hair that was hanging in her face behind her ear and whispered, "You give me reason to, Little Love. I am never as happy or as carefree, as you put it, unless you're by my side."

Carefully, Edward turned his nose into that spot just behind the ear, the one spot that when kissed, nipped at, sucked on, etc. made every girl absolutely crazy and gently ran his nose over the clean, soft smelling skin. Breathing in her specific, distinct scent, he felt his body relax and his muscles loosen. Unable to help himself, he softly ran his teeth over the secret spot and felt Bella shudder against him as her breath whooshed out of her lungs and into the side of his neck.

Inside Edward was jumping for joy. When Bella first got to Chicago, she jumped at everything; when people raised their voices, when they moved too quickly, when they came at her for one reason or another, she always jumped before she cowered in fear. But, as he leaned back to look in her eyes and tucked another lock of hair behind her other ear, she hadn't flinched away from him, hadn't panicked, and hadn't tensed up. It was a massive improvement from all those months ago. That was the single most astonishing moment in his life to date except for the moment Bella had told him she loved him. Now he was just hoping that it could continue to improve as they moved forward in their lives together.

The blush on Bella's face was bright; it covered her entire face and slowly made its way down her neck and to her chest under her tank top as she looked down at her fidgeting fingers in her lap. The butterflies in her stomach were going a mile a minute with her nerves. Every time Edward would pay her special attention, a kiss, a few sweet words, taking care to tuck some hair out of her face, it all made her giddy and nervous like a teenager in love for the first time. Then it actually hit her like a freight train. _She was a teenager and Edward was her first love._

Finally, Edward stood up. "Let me move all this stuff to the table and change into my pajamas and I'll come join you in bed. How does that sound?" he asked looking back at his bashful Bella.

Bella nodded as she stood from her spot at the end of the bed to crawl in. Looking back at Edward she asked, "Can we snuggle? Please?"

The shy, timid smile on Bella's face quickly reminded Edward how far they'd actually come so far, but still showed how far they had to go. Secretly, even once they had moved past all the barriers and obstacles, he hoped she would always portray her inner innocence with shy smiles and hopeful looks and hesitant touches. He hoped she would stay the same; only learn some self-confidence, as contradictory as that sounded.

He smiled brightly at her and asked, "Do you want to?"

"Absolutely," Bella said quickly, almost frantic, lest he think she didn't want to snuggle with him. She did, very badly. It had been conditioned into her over the past few months that she could only get to sleep with his body right behind her, cradling her back with one of his arms thrown over her waist and his face buried in her hair, protecting her from the bad, even in slumber as if it was a natural instinct. She didn't know if she would ever be able to sleep without him right behind her ever again.

Laughing at her response, Edward kissed her on the forehead and told her, "Then we will, just like every other night. Now go get into bed and start warming up the sheets for me." Bella giggled unencumbered like a school girl as she rushed up to the head of the bed and slid between the cool bed sheets on his side of the bed.

One thing they had both noticed through the months was Edward absolutely hated cold sheets, it just made him cold for the rest of the night, but Bella loved the feeling of the cool sheets on her skin. She kept trying to convince Edward that when they crawled into cool sheets, they were ending a day, whether it good or bad, the exact same as the day before. Edward had yet to believe her, though he did admit to himself it gave them a great excuse to wrap themselves around one another to warm each other.

Stretching out over the entire California King sized bed like a starfish, taking up as much space on the bed as possible, Bella smiled lazily as she waited for Edward to return from changing into his pajamas.

Edward stepped out of his bathroom wearing a black wife beater and a pair of baggy green lounge pants. He smiled over at his girl before silently padding over to his side of the bed. Leaning down, he kissed Bella quickly; chastely on the lips causing her to startle and her eyes to pop open.

Once Bella realized who it was, she smiled up at him and rolled over to her side of the bed allowing Edward to crawl into his warmed sheets after her. Edward wasted no time, getting comfortable and pulling Bella into his chest to spoon her back in the middle of their bed. He kissed her temple and nuzzled his nose into her strawberry scented hair and smiled to himself as he squeezed her to him a little tighter. "I love you, Little Love," he whispered into her hair.

Turning over in his arms so she was facing him, she smiled at him and whispered back, "I love you, too… Thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would have done without you…well, you and your family, but you especially."

"I didn't do anything. You don't have to thank me for anything because as much as you think I saved you, you really saved me. I could never repay you enough for what you've done for me," he explained softly as he ran his fingers through her soft hair and nuzzled his nose into the crown of her head.

Once again both Edward and Bella were lost in their own little bubble without a single care in the world. The world could have been crumbling outside their bedroom door but they wouldn't have noticed, nor cared.

Bella looked across at Edward before she reached over and cupped his cheek. Relenting, Bella compromised with a rueful smile. "How about we agree to disagree on that? I don't see either one of us caving any time soon." Her thumb ghosted over his high, angular cheek bone right under his eye as she studied his face. She would often find herself studying Edward when he was around her. His movements fascinated her, his features captivated her and his attitude made her swoon, all on a daily basis. The daily care and attention he paid her astonished her. Here Edward was, a big bad mafia man that was tough and rugged and unwavering and yet when he was in her presence, he was soft, gentle, caring.

As her eyes slowly roamed across his face, they landed on his pink, full lips that had formed a slight pout. Normally, she would wait until Edward kissed her, but those perfect, kissable lips were just calling out to her. Trying to ignore their call was virtually impossible. _Was it even possible to try and ignore those lips when they were calling out to her own? Soft, pink pillows of comfort and security that were begging her to nibble on. How could she pass up such an opportunity? Why would she want to?_

Without giving herself time to second guess herself before she acted, Bella leaned over and pecked Edward's lips quickly; shocking him that she had made the first move for once. Only once before, to Edward's recollection, had Bella been the first to kiss him and that had been a very innocent peck on the forehead. Whether she was scared or what, Edward didn't know, though he could guess. It amazed him that she was coming along so far in such a short amount of time.

Smiling brightly back at her, Edward inquired, "What was that for?"

The blush that swathed her cheeks and traveled down her neck to her chest told Edward her embarrassment was winning out over her nerves. Not willing to let her go back and hide in her shell anymore, he reached over and cupped her cheek as he ran his thumb across her cheek just below her eye and smiled softly at her.

Bella shrugged as much as she could while lying on her side facing him and bit her lower lip as she looked down at Edward's shirt. She picked a piece of lint off the black material before Edward gently forced her face and ultimately her eyes up to meet his. The soft smile he was giving her let her know that everything was okay and he wasn't upset with her impromptu kiss and she relaxed again.

Very slowly Edward scooted his body down to Bella's level so they were face to face and leaned in. Looking into one another's eyes, they silently froze there watching one another, breathing in the other's exhaled breath, basking in the attention from the other before Edward couldn't take it anymore. As he leaned into her space, he very carefully touched his lips to hers, letting them linger for a long moment before he took her upper lip between his and gently nibbled on it. The gasp that escaped Bella went with all the air in her lungs as the tingles and shockwaves where his lips met hers passed through her body.

As Edward started running his fingers through Bella's still damp hair, calming her down from the shock of his unexpected actions, a loud moan of primal need rumbled from Bella's chest as she reciprocated with Edward's lower lip. It was Edward's turn to be surprised as she mimicked what he was doing to her, this time causing him to groan out.

In a moment of weakness, Bella swung her leg over Edward's hip surprising them both at her boldness. It took a second for her to realize what she had done, but when Bella pulled away from Edward and his lips to see for herself, the blush started crawling across her skin. Through her labored breathing, she was about to apologize and retract her leg when Edward interrupted her, stopping her completely.

Unwilling to let Bella think she was doing something wrong, Edward reached down and grabbed hold of her thigh, keeping it wrapped around his thigh. His rough palm held the soft, smooth, pale skin of the underside of her thigh just below where her pajama shorts ended. His thumb had a mind of its own as it started rubbing the skin back and forth, back and forth.

Looking up at Bella to see if she was incredibly uncomfortable, Edward noticed her dilated eyes and her labored breathing. Though there was a look of shock still on her face as she watched her leg, the blush receded a tad before Bella looked back up to Edward. She smiled sheepishly and opened her mouth to apologize profusely, but before she could get any of the words out, Edward's lips were back on hers as he pulled her closer to his body, unwilling to let her go.

With a mind of its own, Edward's hand migrated from the soft skin of the underside of Bella's thigh up over the fabric of her shorts and planted itself on Bella's ass cheek causing her heartbeat to falter and then speed up. His thumb resumed its stroking. His other arm was wrapped under her waist and around her back where it clutched onto her side under her tank top; both of his thumbs stroking away; one on skin one on the soft fabric of her shorts.

Bella's hands tangled in Edward's hair, holding onto him and therefore holding onto the sensations he was causing within her as tight as possible without causing him pain. The soft, tender kiss from before soon morphed into something more, something deeper, the moment Edward's tongue traced over Bella's lip, asking for entrance.

Everything was so new to Bella. The new feelings, sensations, touches; they were all unfamiliar, unknown and scary but so incredibly amazing at the same time and she wasn't quite ready to call it quits just then. _Just a little more…_

The gasp that left Bella was all Edward needed to slip his tongue into her mouth and try a whole new way of kissing they hadn't experienced together. The rough texture of his tongue when it met hers shocked her. Edward guessed it wasn't wholly a bad experience since Bella gripped his hair tighter in her fingers before trying to curl her tongue around his.

Edward had experienced kisses before, kisses of all types, but never one as monumental or as profound as that one. The intense feelings it brought about… Just the fact that Bella was his wife, the woman he wanted to live out his days with, the one girl, the only girl he would ever have again, it was intense and awe inspiring. With the flings throughout the years, Edward never once experienced a kiss that stunned him stupid, a kiss that he felt deep in his soul, but that kiss, the first kiss he shared with Bella, the first kiss she really let all her walls down with, was the one he knew he would never forget.

As clichéd as it sounded, that was the kiss that would change his world. It wasn't even that she knew some stellar, jaw dropping moves. Her touches were tentative and unsure and she waited to hear Edward moan and groan before she would gain a crumb of self-confidence to keep going. Overall, he had had more experienced kissers before, but they didn't hold a flame to the girl in his arms. She was the best out of all of them in more ways than one.

Feeling emboldened, Bella pressed on her thigh, pushing Edward onto his back as she sat up over him as they continued kissing. One of her hands left his hair and held her up when she placed it on his muscular peck, just over his heart. Granted he wasn't as muscled as Emmett was, but he was perfectly proportioned for her.

With the new angle, Bella's dark hair fell around them, curtaining them off from the rest of the world. Some of the shorter strands fell from behind her ears and tickled Edward's ears as they swished across the skin and settled.

Strawberries and clean skin; that's all he could smell as he laced one hand in her hair and pushed it back, over her shoulder, away from his face, interrupting the curtain. His other hand was resting on her hip over the shorts that covered the bumpy skin thanks to her uncle. His thumb slipped under her tank top and started swishing back and forth, back and forth against the soft, warm skin of the side of her stomach. Bella was all woman with soft, gentle curves. She wasn't one of those model types. Edward couldn't stop thanking God, Karma, whoever else he could think of she wasn't another pipe cleaner with eyes; all skin and bone; nothing really there.

The feeling of her fingers running through his hair and occasionally playing with the few at the nape of his neck caused Edward to shiver. Her other hand was splayed out on his chest just over his heart with one of her fingers unintentionally moving over his nipple, and Edward groaned loudly as his hips unexpectedly bucked up into Bella causing her to gasp loudly and shudder as her lips pulled away from his. Closing her eyes, her forehead fell to his shoulder as she whimpered softly near his ear in pure pleasure, the tingles radiated through her body at his unfamiliar touch.

"Shit," Edward panted out. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry…"

Turning her face so it was buried against his neck, Bella opened her mouth and quickly attached it to the soft skin of his neck like a leech. Her tongue laved at the skin there as she moaned again. Everything was so new, so intense, so _right_.

"Shit!" Edward gasped as his hips shot up against her again.

A moan escaped Bella's chest as she left Edward's neck to gasp out, "Oh God."

Edward's hand- which had been in her hair- smoothed down her back to grip her ass as she bucked from the sudden touch making them both moan. Bucking up into her for more, Edward pulled her down by her butt as he ground their bodies together harshly.

"Holy crow-" Bella gasped before she whimpered. Sitting up on his lap, Bella placed her hands on his shoulders for support to prop herself up, which put more pressure and weight where their hips met.

Experimentally, she wiggled on top of Edward and smiled slightly when his head dipped into the pillow below him and he swore. Out of instinct more than anything, Bella leaned forward and licked his neck and underside of his chin, swirling her tongue on his pulse points and was rewarded with the feel of his hips grinding into hers.

Unable to handle anymore torture of her sitting on his pelvis, Edward rolled them so she was on her back on her side of the bed and he was nestled in the cradle of her legs, his pelvis tightly pressed against hers as he settled his weight on his hands that were on either side of her head. Staring into one another's eyes, Edward slowly pushed his hips into hers to see the reaction he received.

Watching as Bella's brow crinkled, mouth dropped open, and her hands came to rest on his biceps while a soft hue slowly started coloring her cheeks, he concluded it was a favorable reaction. Again and again he would move against her with strong movements as he watched her slowly lose another piece of herself with each touch.

Each thrust of his hips was experimental as if he wasn't sure Bella would appreciate the movements or even like them, but each time he made contact with her, it would be met with a loud, guttural groan from deep within her chest as her grip on him would tighten to keep him from moving away. She clung to him like a baby koala to its mother as he moved above her, unwilling to let go even for a second.

Allowing her hands to roam his body, the feel of her nails digging into the skin of his scalp, the other hand gripped tightly in his black wife beater shirt, her legs wrapped around his hips was exciting and new to both. His chest rubbed against hers sending shocks of excitement through his body. He may have been with a few women previously, had kinky sex in all sorts of wild positions and yet what the two of them were doing with their clothes still on was much more meaningful to him.

"You're so beautiful, Little Love," he whispered.

As his arms started straining to keep him on his hands, he dropped down to his elbows on either side of her head and leaned in to kiss her but as their lips touched, he froze. The skin to skin contact, the mingling of their heavy breaths and the look in her eyes, the desperate and needy look took his breath away and he couldn't stay there any longer. He took her top lip between hers and gently nipped at it as he continued to stare into her heavy lidded eyes.

"Oh god! What- what is…that?" Bella gasped as she pulled away from Edward's lips a while later. Zings of pleasure were shooting from where he rubbed up against her into the pit of her stomach causing her thighs to tremble and her stomach to tighten. With each touch it got more and more intense, almost to the point of pain as she got closer and closer- to what, she had no idea, just that she was close. Scared, that's what she was. She was scared of the new sensations she was feeling, though she didn't stop grinding her hips against his.

"It's all right, Little Love," Edward promised with a whisper. "Let go. I've got you. Just feel. You're safe. Let yourself fall."

"Oh god-" Bella gasped. _Too much. It's all too much. Not enough. Need more. Too much and not enough._ "I just-. Oh God-. How-." Bella babbled incoherently as the feelings took over and everything became sensation. Anything not in the immediate vicinity fell away.

"That's it. Just feel. I've got you," Edward whispered again as he rubbed against her harder.

"Oh shit!" Bella gasped loudly as her thighs quaked violently against his hips. He could feel her stomach below him seize as she was right there. He needed to do something to make her fall over that precipice.

As he whispered, "I love you," against her ear, he felt the quaking in her thighs reach epic proportions before her body started to convulse though she kept a tight grip on him. Her head dug into the pillow below as it slammed back, her eyes scrunched closed causing her tears of frustration finally roll down her temples and into her sweaty hairline and her mouth popped open in a silent scream. Her thighs had a death grip on his hips as he continued to move against her trying to reach his own peak as she was in the middle of hers.

Four more thrusts were all it took for Edward to swear loudly as he collapsed against Bella in a gooey mess. He tucked his head against her neck and panted against her skin as he tried to calm himself down. The weightless feeling ensconced both of them as they floated in the aftermaths of their mutual pleasure.

Unwilling to let him go, Bella curled around him even more to hold him in place as the emotions swirling inside her finally hit her head on. She sniffled softly as she felt her heart mend just a little more because of the man in her arms. The band aid that had been placed on her heart just then had his name on it, as it was because of him she was slowly returning to the person she was supposed to be. She owed him so much but he didn't want anything in return for saving her. That's just the kind of person Edward was.

Only once his breathing was normal again did Edward pull his head from the crook of her neck. He pecked a kiss or two across her sweaty collarbone leaving fireworks exploding under her skin in his wake. She shuddered lightly under his warm lips and reached up to cup his cheek.

"What the hell was that?" Bella asked in shocked awe as aftershocks occasionally ran through her, causing her to flinch every so often against Edward.

"That, Little Love, was an orgasm. I take it that was your very first one?" He asked looking to her eyes, searching her soul for an answer to whether she minded he went as far as he did while he wiped the tears and the trails they took away from her face.

Smiling lazily, Bella nodded. "First one."

"Thank you for letting me be a part of it," Edward answered. "I need to go get cleaned up before this becomes even more uncomfortable, but I'll be right back to snuggle. I promise," he said as he kissed her forehead and hopped out of the bed to change his boxers and pajama pants in his bathroom.

It only took Edward moments to change before he was trotting his way back to the bed. He crawled up in the bed before he rolled back over Bella and nestled back into the nook her legs and hips made for him and got comfortable in the same position as before, with his weight resting on his elbows on either side of her head.

"How are you so perfect?" Bella asked as she looked over every inch of his face, trailing her index finger over his high cheekbone and down his angular jaw before moving it back up to trace down his nose and lower to his lips.

The snort of laughter that escaped Edward's chest told Bella he thought she was way off the mark about him but she wouldn't buy that. He was too good and she wasn't going to let him think otherwise.

"I'm not perfect, Bella," he muttered with a self deprecating tone as he resituated himself over her. His arms came up to cradle her head as his hands started brushing the sweat soaked hair off her forehead and back onto the pillow below. "I kill people-"

Bella clamped her hand over his mouth to keep him from continuing with his thought. "Don't you dare disrespect my husband with your words. I happen to think he's amazing and I won't have you speaking ill of him."

"You astound me each and every day," Edward revealed. "What would you like to do tomorrow? I'll be home all day to spend it with you."

Shrugging, Bella asked, "Do you think we can get some more fresh air or something? Tonight up in the pool was amazing. I guess I forgot what fresh air felt and smelt like after all this time in here, not that I really minded being cooped up in this place with you or your family or anything. It was just a nice reminder and I feel like I'm going to go little nuts if I keep myself cooped up in here without even a little fresh air…"

"We can go to the park down the street-" Edward suggested as he rolled off her and turned onto his side before flinging his leg over Bella's as he pulled her in real close to his chest. He didn't think he could go another moment without her body tucked up against his where he knew it was safe and sound.

Bella shook her head as she turned into his chest so they were front to front. "No." She bit her lower lip and sighed before she told him, "I'm still scared to go out in public after what happened in December and because of what Detective Black did earlier in the year…" Shrugging, she let her sentence drift off since they both knew what she meant.

As he buried his head in her hair, Edward whispered, "I completely understand. Maybe we can spend some time on one of the balconies instead. That way you get the fresh air yet don't have to deal with the public just yet." Taking comfort in his hands moving up and down her back, Bella sighed sleepily into Edward's chest. Snuggling into his warm body, they were quickly asleep for the night.

Mid day the next day came quicker than Bella realized. She stretched languidly on the large bed and feeling a weight holding her down to the mattress, Bella looked down to find Edward pillowed on her chest like he sometimes would during the night. His face was between her breasts with his nose buried into the side of the right one while his hand was holding onto it tightly as if he were scare it was going to disappear when he wasn't looking.

Before Edward, any sort of touching from another human being would terrify Bella into hyperventilation, a panic attack or both. However, since meeting Edward and discovering he would never hurt her, she trusted him enough to touch her like that. The first time it happened a few months prior, it was unnerving, but she didn't run away screaming like she would have. It felt nice, refreshing to trust someone for once.

The smile that lit Bella's lips didn't leave, even when moments later, she realized the shirt she was wearing was thin, almost threadbare and she could feel each and every breath he took and then exhaled against her breast. She felt the warm, slightly muggy breath against her skin as he would unconsciously grip her chest tighter in his sleep as he inhaled. Each rough movement of his five o'clock shadow scratched her sensitive skin as she breathed and he nuzzled.

Edward's hair looked to be even messier than usual as Bella ran her fingers through the soft locks, knowing it was because of what they had done a few hours prior. Scratching his scalp gently, causing a moan of pleasure from him, Bella giggled as he turned his face against her sternum and rubbed his scratchy face over the thin shirt between her breasts.

With a scratchy from sleep voice, Edward asked, "What time is it?"

Checking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand, Bella answered, "Eleven. We haven't slept this late ever."

Edward hummed as he nuzzled her breast and closed his eyes again. He pulled her closer to him and sighed when he couldn't get back to sleep.

"I guess we should get up, huh?" Edward asked her breast.

Running her fingers through his hair, Bella agreed. "Yeah, any later and your family will wonder what happened to you. It's not like you to sleep this late."

Petulantly, Edward grumbled, "All right. Fine." He pushed the blankets down his body and sat up in bed to stretch as Bella did the same lying down. As he looked over at her, Edward noticed her shirt had ridden up on her waist and was exposing a sliver of tummy flesh. He reached over and laid his hand on the exposed skin and smiled down at Bella when she squeaked in surprise.

As her large, doe eyes met Edward's; he leaned down and kissed her lips before playfully kissing her nose and hopping out of bed. He grabbed a clean set of clothes and made his way into the bathroom to change for the day while Bella slowly did the same.

When Bella was changed and ready to take on the day, Edward traipsed out of the bathroom and asked, "Would you mind if I meet you downstairs? I want to go get something for us."

"Not at all," Bella shook her head with a smile as she picked up a hair tie and put her hair in a ponytail before they made their way into the hall. Edward turned to the right while Bella turned towards the left in the direction of the elevator to head down to get some breakfast.

Esme, Alice and Rose looked up as Bella walked into the kitchen and smirked to one another. She was walking like she had been riding on a horse the past two weeks having workedmuscles she didn't even know she had. Even with the sore muscles, she was still walking with a slight pep to her step. They knew something happened the previous night.

As Bella searched the refrigerator for something to eat for breakfast, Rose asked, "So, we know what you wrapped Edward for his birthday, but what else did you give him?"

When Bella went to stand up, she smacked the back of her head against one of the shelves in the refrigerator and cried out. She reached up to hold it and stood up straight to look over at Rose with large, surprised and shocked eyes. The girls giggled at her expression as Esme waved her over to the breakfast nook table they were seated at.

Taking the bowl of freshly cut fruit, Bella cautiously made her way over to the giggling girls and sat down next to Esme. As Esme rubbed her back, Bella slowly seemed to calm down and loosen up a bit.

"How was it?" Rose asked as she and Alice leaned closer. Bella looked at them before looking over at Esme, blushed bright, fire truck red and ducked her head so her hair hid her face from them.

Snatching a piece of kiwi from the bowl, Bella shrugged and tried to explain, "We didn't really… do…that."

"Then what _did_ you do that has you walking on sunshine?" Rose joked.

"You've got a beautiful glow about you, sweetie, that most women only get when their significant other pays special attention to them," Esme explained as she tucked the hair behind Bella's ear so she could see her face. "You look rosy and happy this morning."

"I don't- he just-" Bella groaned before eating the piece of kiwi and tried again. "We didn't have sex," she blurted out.

"All right, no home run was scored last night, but you did do something with him. What happened? Inquiring minds want to know. What did our brother-in-law do to make you so red this morning?" Rose asked with a gleam in her eyes. She wasn't trying to be mean about it, she just wanted to know what Edward and his shy, innocent, under aged wife did the night before for his birthday that had her blushing like she'd met the queen of England in her birthday suit. She knew Bella was no prude, but with the little understanding of her background that Rose had, she knew Bella was inexperienced to the max.

"We just- he…rubbed?" Bella said sounding more like a question than an answer.

Alice squealed as Rose asked, "With his hands?" Bella shook her head as a blush covered her original blush. "You were humping?" There was a spark in Rose's eye as she guessed. The slight nod that Bella gave them left Rose with a huge smile on her face, happy that her brother-and-sister-in-laws were finally getting some, while Alice squealed happily and started clapping as she danced in her seat. Esme just wrapped her arms around Bella and ran her hand over her hair in a motherly fashion.

Leaning in towards Bella, Rose whispered conspiratorially, "It only gets better from there. Trust me."

Just then Edward came walking into the breakfast nook area carrying a lightweight periwinkle blanket in one hand and a book in the other. He smiled when he saw Bella and asked, "I thought we could read while we're out on the balcony. Does that sound okay?"

With a nod, Bella popped another piece of fruit into her mouth.

"Good. When you're done just come on out," Edward mentioned as he motioned towards the balcony just outside the breakfast nook area.

After he left, Alice, Rose and Esme trailed out of the room one by one to get ready to go out together. Bella didn't know where they were sneaking off to and frankly, she didn't really care because once she was full, she put the fruit bowl back in the refrigerator and padded out to find Edward laying on a reclining padded chair she often saw in people's back yards back in California. When she looked around and didn't find another one, she was about to ask where she was going to sit when Edward reached up, took her hand and gently pulled her so she was lying against him in the chair.

When they were both settled in, Edward flung the blanket out over the both of them and opened the book. Bella's face burrowed into Edward's neck as she hitched her leg up over his and settled in as Edward started reading his book aloud to both of them.

Noon turned into sunset and then to dusk and the only breaks Edward and Bella took were to get something to eat, go to the bathroom or grab another book from the library. The day was whiled away in one another's arms as they simply reveled in each other's warmth.

As the moonlight shone into the bedroom, Bella moved in the bed under Edward's body and slowly opened her eyes. Reaching up, she ran her hands through his hair to keep him where he was, nestled into her bosom. The long shadows illustrated against the floor of the bedroom telling Bella it was late in the night. Clearing her throat and turning over under Edward so she was laying on her stomach, she realized she wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon.

Carefully, Bella climbed out from under Edward's heavy body and quickly put a pillow in her place to keep the pout from his lips. She grabbed one of his zip up sweatshirts and put it on before she found some slippers and padded her way down to the kitchen in search of something to munch on. The shadows the moon cast throughout the bottom floor slightly crept Bella out as she made her way to the kitchen.

The minute her slippered feet hit the hardwood flooring of the kitchen, she flicked the light on so she could find something to nibble. The fruit bowl was calling to her again so she took it to the table and started eating some.

Startled when she heard someone behind her, she screamed slightly as she whirled around to see who it was. Standing there in the doorway of the kitchen was James in a pair of pajama pants and a white undershirt as he rubbed his scruffy jawbone.

"Hi. What are you doing up?" Bella asked bashfully as she bit into a piece of watermelon.

James shrugged and made his way over to the refrigerator for some food of his own and replied, "I heard something moving around out here and figured I'd check it out. I didn't think I'd find you of all people sneaking about during the night."

"I couldn't sleep," Bella whispered as she picked up another piece of melon. "And I was a little hungry…. Sorry for waking you. I tried to be quiet."

"Don't worry about it," James replied as he walked over to the table where Bella was with her fruit and sat down from across her. "I tend to be a really light sleeper nowadays." He placed his bowl of ice cream on the table and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Ice cream, huh? I thought you tough guys didn't do sweets," Bella joked as she skeptically eyed the bowl of white, frozen cream with some chocolate and strawberry sauce drizzled over for additional flavors.

Shrugging again, James replied, "I know. I usually don't indulge in the sweets, but every once in a long, long, long time I'll have some. Apparently, tonight was that time."

Bella giggled as she watched James dig into his sweet treat. She wanted some ice cream, but she decided to stick with the fruit because it was lighter on her stomach, especially that late at night. If she had any ice-cream, she would surely wake up a few hours later with a horrendous stomach ache and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. That ice cream did look good, though.

"How are you feeling now?" James asked as he eyed her over his bowl of yummy goodness. "I haven't had a chance to talk with you for a while, not since the drive by…"

Shrugging, Bella replied, "I still can't eat what I want, but it's getting better. I'm never going to be able to eat as much as I really want to, my portions from before are history, but I'm slowly getting there. I still can't have processed foods because that'll give me a whopper of a stomach ache, but Edward's making sure I get all the nutrients I need each day. He can be a tyrant sometimes," Bella joked.

When James chuckled, she saw a glimmer of a carefree man, a man he used to be before his wife was killed.

"Yeah, he's a tyrant all right," James replied.

Things were quiet between them for a long moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Bella savored each bite of her tangy, juicy fruits as James devoured his ice cream like he hadn't eaten in a month.

As Bella watched the man before her, she couldn't help the pang of sadness that shot through her heart. She didn't know what she would do if Edward was taken from her. It would be unbearable and eventually life ending if they were separated. James had to be a strong man to make it through all these years without the woman he obviously loved, still loved. It was unfathomable to Bella how he was strong enough to survive something like that.

"I never thanked you for watching my room when I was in the hospital after the drive by, did I?" Bella asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Looking up at Bella, James just stared at her with the spoon half way to his mouth. He didn't know what to say. Why would she thank him? He was doing his job, guarding her. He and Mike should have done a better job of it to prevent Detective Black from getting into the room. James _should_ have been there that night of the drive by to stop it from even occurring, but he had been on a rare night off that night and didn't hear about the drive by until Senior called him to tell him he was going to be a guard to her room. Granted, he had volunteered to take over more of Mike's shifts because he was worried about the waif of a girl in the bed, but still, he didn't do anything.

"Why would you thank me?" James asked, bewildered.

Bella blushed and shrugged slightly before she explained, "Because you spent time looking after me when you probably could have told Senior 'no' or something. And don't think I don't know about you taking some of Mike's shifts. I don't know why you'd do that, but I'm grateful for it all the same. You took time out of your busy schedule, your life to babysit me. I can't tell you how much that means to me. You need a raise for what you do for me alone. I don't know what you do for the family, though I can probably guess, and frankly I don't want to know, but I believe you deserve a raise and a vacation."

Chuckling, James shook his head. "Good luck with that. Besides, where would I go on vacation?"

"I don't know," Bella said with a smile, "But I do have my ways of getting things done. I'm on the boss's good side." Bella gave him a cheeky grin causing him to laugh loudly.

"You're on everybody's good side," James replied. "Well, besides the shrews, of course. Just don't tell anyone I called them that."

"Called who what?" Bella asked innocently with fake confusion on her face.

James just shook his head and pointed his spoon at her before he told her, "If all this shit hadn't happened to you, you would have made an excellent actress. Of that I have no doubt."

"Nah," Bella shook her head as she got up to put the fruit bowl away since she had gotten pretty full. "That's not my cup of tea."

Standing, James rinsed out his bowl and popped it and his spoon into the dishwasher before he bid Bella a goodnight.

On her way back up to the bed, Bella clicked off the kitchen lights and made her way over to the elevator, which was situated near James' room but before she could press the button, she made a split decision and walked over to James' bedroom door and knocked quietly.

It took a moment for James to open the door, but when he did, he looked at her confused and opened his mouth to ask what she wanted. "Before I go to bed, I just wanted to say that you are a good man, James Cross. And I'm lucky to have you as a friend." And then she flung her arms around him to give him a tight hug. Startled, James didn't know what to do, but finally hugged her back.

When Bella pulled back, she smiled up at him and made her way back towards the elevator to finally go up to her and Edward's bedroom where she left Edward. The ding of the elevator broke the spell on James and he shook his head before he shut the door to go back to bed for the night.

In the shadows, standing where neither Bella nor James would see him, Carlisle watched the entire interaction between the two. At first he thought when Bella went back to knock on James' door, she was going to go in and spend the night and break his youngest brother's heart in the process, but when Carlisle heard what she had told James he couldn't believe he would think of something that distasteful. Bella was a good person. She wouldn't think about having an affair. Carlisle could tell she loved Edward immensely. _How could he ever even think she would do something so unconscionable? _Bella was right though- James really, truly was a good man.

Carlisle shook his head as he smiled to himself thinking how Edward was incredibly lucky someone like Bella had fallen into his lap and continued into the kitchen to get himself some warm milk to get back to sleep.

In their bedroom, Bella carefully climbed back into the bed next to Edward. Immediately, his arm snaked around her waist as he pulled her closer to his body. "Where were you?" He mumbled sleepily.

"I went down to get something to eat. I was hungry again and I got to talking with James." Bella replied through a large yawn.

Humming, Edward buried his nose in her hair and mumbled a sleepy, "What'd you two talk about for so long?"

When Edward felt Bella shrug, he figured he wasn't going to get an actual answer but after another moment Bella quietly, sleepily said, "He's a good man. I thought he should know, so I told him."

"You're an amazing woman, Bella, amazing."

With that, both Edward and Bella relaxed back into the black of a dreamless sleep, cuddled as close to one another as possible.

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><p><strong>AN: As usual, thank you TwiSNFan for all the hard work you've done for me. Thank you for keeping me motivated, even if you don't realize it, you have. She's done an amazing job making my work legible to you readers and without her pushing me, none of this would be out there for anyone to read. Thank her for all of that, please. She's really the driving force behind all of this. You might want to drop by and say a "Get Well Soon," since she's hurt right now.**

**Leave a review, but please, if you're going to be rude about it, remember the wise words of Thumper, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Constructive criticism is welcome, just remember and be cautious of how your words may come off. There are certain ways to say things that won't make the other person defensive.**

**All of y'all have a wonderful week and I will update next when I can, though I don't quite know when that will be. I promise.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey, this is mainly a filler chapter, but still needs to be read. You'll understand in chapters to come. Talk about foreshadowing… It's not the shortest chapter I've written, but it's by no means the longest one either. I wrote this chapter all in one night. Long story short, someone really pissed me off and I needed an outlet. Those of you who saw why I asked for help on Facebook, know what I'm talking about.**

**I am still not SM; therefore I still do not own Twilight. Boohoo, right?**

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><p>It was a brisk morning with the smell of rain hanging in the air. It was early in the city's seasons to get a summer shower, but it looked like a late summer drizzle was probable. Although the sun was trying to peak from around the clouds, it just didn't have enough strength, enough willpower to achieve its goal, proving the weatherman right for once with his prediction of a gloomy Sunday afternoon.<p>

The people bustled around the city streets, trying to get indoors before the clouds unloaded upon them. Men and women alike had to skirt around a lone, stationary man as he stood on the sidewalk staring up at the tall building across the street from him. If he cared at all, he would have realized that the people trying to dodge him were getting frustrated as he stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, obstructing the walkway. But he didn't.

The sight of one of his targets coming out of the parking garage of the building in a bright orange Hummer made the man sneer as he was finally snapped out of his staring. He had found a nearby park bench across the street from the building and taken up residence to keep vigil. He was off of work, but he could never turn off this driving need to watch them go down once and for all. And he was going to be the one to do it. It would be HIS name in all the newspaper and on all the reporter's lips. He was going to be famous.

The drive to bring the family down started three years prior in a small warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It began with mistaken identity and male ego and pride that wouldn't let Detective Black forget what could have been prevented with just a little bit of planning and foresight. He was the youngest detective on the force at just twenty two years old, with a knowledgeable partner that had ten years experience on the job who had just become a father for the second time.

The Cullen family had been on the radar for organized crime for a generation already, but nothing serious. No murders, no racketeering, no drug trafficking, no gun running had ever been linked to the Cullen family or organization, though it was the worst kept secret in Chicago that they ran the entire city. The Volturis were more of a problem in that day and age than the Cullens.

It had been overcast, a rainy Monday morning when Detective Jake Black and Detective Nicholas Holly followed a young, up and coming, cocky twenty two year old Edward to an abandoned warehouse. Technically, Black was off the clock, but he had just taken down a massive drug dealer that had been trafficking cocaine from Mexico in baby formula canisters. It was a multimillion dollar bust and got millions of pounds of coke off the streets. Naturally, he was still on an adrenaline high and felt invincible.

Detective Holly should have been at home that day with his newborn baby girl, two year old son and his wife, but Black coaxed him out of the house for a few hours, "just to move some furniture." Black didn't tell him they would be trailing a known mob member on their day off; off the clock and without backup, but a cop always backs up their partner. By the time Black pulled into the warehouse area, it was too late for Holly to leave.

They watched as the cocky, hotheaded Edward entered the front of the warehouse with a black duffle bag and before Holly could stop him, Black was charging into the warehouse to arrest Edward because he "just knew" something nefarious was happening inside that building. He had no probable cause; he had nothing on Edward, except maybe his gut. Holly, being the good partner he was, followed Black into the warehouse to cover his partner's back.

What Black didn't see was Edward leaving through the back exit to get in a car with James, leaving to meet up with his family for lunch at a restaurant in town. With the way James drove, he and Edward were already two blocks away when Black finally stormed across the deserted parking lot and into the warehouse with Holly hot on his heels.

Believing he would have the next big arrest in the department with the son of a renowned Mafia boss of the city, Black kicked in the front door of the warehouse with his gun drawn and started shouting demands that everybody should get down on the ground with their hands on their heads. Too bad the two men in the warehouse didn't want to back to prison.

Before Black knew what had happened, there was a searing pain in his chest as it felt like he was thrown back. He landed on the floor on his back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to determine what had happened. He heard Holly shouting nearby as loud bangs reverberated through the room. As he turned his head, he saw Holly fall back onto the floor next to him and then the loud noises were done.

One of the men stepped into Black's vision with his gun in his hand. The look on his face was murderous as he raised the gun to shoot Black again, ending his life once and for all. As the criminal raised the gun to point at Black's head, Black was able to get two shots off, landing them both in his chest in a double tap.

The gunman stumbled back, shocked, before he crumpled to the floor and stopped breathing.

Black struggled to sit up with the excruciating pain in his chest. He sat there on the cold cement floor for a moment, trying to clear the confusion when he remembered Holly was with him. He scrambled over to his partner's body.

The first thing Black saw was all the blood. The collar of Holly's white undershirt had turned a dark red, almost black color due to the blood that was seeping from the man's neck. The detective's baby blue eyes that had been so lively and happy all the time were now open and vacant as they stared into the wall across the room.

With a loud "Fuck," Black whipped out his cell phone to call the situation in.

Even after all those years, Black still blamed Edward Junior for what happened to him and his partner. He was sitting on the damn bench across the street, watching, waiting for the man responsible for the death of his partner to come out so he could pin something on him. Edward had been laying low the past couple of months, barely showing his face around town; probably due to that Miss Swan he had been doting on since she appeared.

Black had done a little bit of research on her once he found out who she was and was appalled that she would be helping the Cullens out instead of the law. Her father was a police officer for God's sake, but apparently that didn't matter to her. She was turning her back on him and all he stood for when she broke the law to help that family out. He was also able to find that her aunt and uncle died just after she had left the Bay Area. He could tell something was hinky with the whole situation, but he couldn't figure out what. The flight logs showed she had left on a private jet chartered by Edward Cullen Senior the day before her aunt and uncle were killed, after spending a full day at the mall. He just needed to figure out what was false and what was fact and then he could start pulling on threads to unravel the entire story.

Bella Swan's aunt and uncle's murder case had been ruled as a home invasion robbery by a local drug addict since the police couldn't find any jewelry or other valuable items left in the house and with no new leads in the case, had been deemed a cold case file. The chances of ever catching the murderer were slim to none.

The girl had gone through more than her fair share of heartache and tragedy in her short life, but she was helping the wrong people. If she wanted to stave off more tragedy, she would start giving Black information while she still could. However to do that he would need to get close to her one more time when she was alone to try and turn her into a confidential informant. She had to know at least some inside information of the goings on in that penthouse apartment and the family that resided there. The way she turned a blind eye to the law concerned him the most. How could someone who grew up with an officer of the law as a father so easily turn their backs on it? Granted, he knew children of law enforcement either turned out good, law abiding citizen or turned out bad, entitled brats; there was rarely anything in between.

All Black had to do was find her one weakness and turn her. That and he needed to find a way to be alone with her to finally once and for all break her. She would hand over vital, pertinent information whether she liked it or not, Black was sure of that.

Once Black had been released from the hospital with the diagnoses of a shattered rib, shattered clavicle and a collapsed lung, he realized just what a mess the whole situation was. With Internal Affairs sniffing about and breathing down his neck, trying to find answers on what happened and how something like that could have been prevented, Black focused on his true target. He needed to find a way to bring the Cullen family to its knees. Especially that Edward Cullen Jr.

Two weeks after the attempted bust in the warehouse, Black was called into the station for questioning on what had happened that day. He learned that the two men in the warehouse were mechanics with minor criminal backgrounds with chop shops and similar things. The picture of Edward Junior exiting the vehicle in front of the warehouse, which had been pulled off of Black's phone having been taken the day of the shooting, had been analyzed and debunked. While Edward Junior had the hair color of a shiny new penny and bright green eyes, the man in the picture looked similar, but his hair was a more golden color and his eyes were bright, royal in violet color.

As long as Black lived he would maintain that the man that entered the warehouse that day was in fact Edward Junior with the sun glinting differently on his hair and purple colored contacts.

Holly had been pronounced dead on the scene. In Black's eyes, because of Edward Cullen Jr. Holly's little girl would never know her father and his son would grow up without a father. Holly's wife had to deal with the funeral, death and subsequent days without her best friend, lover and husband. She had remarried a year ago to a bank manager who was now raising Holly's children as his own. She wanted nothing to do with Black as she blamed him for the death of her first husband - her high school sweetheart. Black was certain she was putting the blame on the wrong person. It wasn't his fault Holly was killed, it was entirely Edward Cullen Junior's fault.

If Edward Junior hadn't led them to the warehouse, the detectives never would have rushed in to arrest him for whatever deal had been going down and Detective Holly never would have been shot and killed.

Detective Black looked back up at the top floors of the building across the street from him. _Yes, the Cullen's were going to pay. Especially that cocky son-of-a-bitch Edward Cullen Junior._

The gloomy clouds hung around the sky, draping themselves around the building as if the two were lovers. The black storm clouds looked threatening, almost like they would let down any moment, and didn't look like they would clear up any time soon. Storms were rare but not unheard of in Chicago in late summer. It only meant it was going to be a long, harsh winter that would descend upon them in a few months time.

Little light was illuminating the bedroom when Edward woke for the day with Bella safe and sound in his arms - as it should be for the rest of their days. He had been wrapped around her like a koala holding on for dear life to its mother. She was snoring slightly, her mouth just barely open as her chest moved up and down rhythmically with each breath she took. Her hair was mussed up and sprawled around her on the pillow creating a halo effect on the white pillowcase below as her eyelashes fluttered with the movements of her eyes just below the lids.

The white wife beater Bella was wearing had ridden up ever so slightly during the night to expose some of her stomach. The smooth skin between the end of her shirt and the top of her innocent, cotton white panties called to Edward and when he could resist no more, he carefully moved his hand from her hip to the soft skin of her tummy. His thumb dipped under the shirt and tenderly skirted back and forth, coaxing a small moan from Bella as she continued to sleep.

It was late August and though it had been a couple of weeks since the fiasco after returning from the hot tub on the roof, the couple hadn't progressed much in their physical encounters. That's not to say they hadn't repeated the performance. They did. Quite a few times. The night before being one of those times leaving them both satiated, exhausted and feeling closer to one another. Clothes remained on, but when it came time for bed, they would both shirk their lounge clothes and wear the bare minimum to bed to allow for more skin contact.

Edward had no problem taking care of business by himself when he needed to because the thought of pushing Bella into something she couldn't handle made him physically sick. If having to deal with himself a bit more prevented Bella from being scared and scarred for life, he would do so for the rest of his life. He was willing to go at Bella's pace with what Bella was comfortable with. He wasn't about to push her into doing something she didn't want to, something she would regret later. He would give her the time she needed. But did she have to tempt him with the wife beaters or tank tops and the innocent underwear she always wore to bed now? He was about to combust. He'd do it in private though.

Watching her every response, trying to gauge her every reaction, Edward couldn't help but groan out softly when he noticed Bella's chest. Her wife beater was thin, so thin in fact; he could just make out the outline of her small, pink nipples. And it seemed that with every stroke of his thumb, they puckered even more until they were straining, trying to break through the flimsy fabric of her shirt. He knew he'd have to get up to take care of the growing problem that was now pressing against Bella's leg, but he loathed to get up until after she was awake and in the bathroom herself. He didn't want to miss out on even a second watching her sleep.

When she slept, there were no nerves evident on her face, no worries and no stress. She was peaceful and childlike as clichéd as that sounded. She was beyond perfect in those moments just before her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him. She'd stretch languidly like a cat before she got up and brush her teeth, use the bathroom and brush her hair before returning to bed with him, if the day's activities permitted it.

That day was begging to be a lazy Sunday. Edward decided right then and there the only things they would get out of bed for that day were to get something to eat, go to the bathroom and for Edward to show Bella something important he rightfully should have showed her long ago.

An hour later when Bella finally started her routine of waking up, Edward beamed. Her eyes fluttered open to see Edward leaning over her with a soft grin causing her to smile sleepily up at him in response. Then she lifted her arms above her head and groaned as she stretched out before flopping back on the bed. Today she broke her routine though and leaned up and quickly pecked him on the lips, catching him by surprise, before she got up and made her way into her bathroom to deal with the rest of her morning routine.

Bella was the first to return to the bed followed shortly by Edward. As they lay there, wrapped in one another's arms she asked, "What kinds of things do you have to do today?"

"Nothing much. I have some paperwork I have to get done, but I can do that on my laptop in here by your side," he responded in a whisper into her hair.

"Oh goodie. I get to keep you all to myself today? We can just lay here and not worry about who wants what?" Bella asked as she looked up at him with a lazy grin on her lips.

"Not quite," Edward said. "I need to show you something I should have shown you at Thanksgiving. It's in my office, so while we're in there, I can grab the things I'll need and we can come back in here. Sound like a plan?"

Unbeknownst to her, Bella's lower lip pushed out in an adorable pout. Edward grinned down at her and quickly kissed her lip before pulling away from her and getting out of the bed. "Come on, the sooner I can show you this, the sooner we can get back in bed. Let's go."

"All right," Bella groaned playfully as she got out of bed too. "If I must."

Not even bothering to make the bed since they would be right back, Edward pulled on the pair of lounge pants and shirt he had discarded by the bed the previous night while Bella went into the closet to pull out clean lounge clothes for the day. It was a pet peeve of hers to reuse clothes from day to day and while his clothes weren't dirty, per say, since he had only worn them for a few hours the day before, they were still being used for a second day of lounging around the house.

Edward took Bella by the hand down the hall and into his office, shutting the door behind them. He pulled Bella into the connected bathroom and stopped in the center. "In case there is ever an emergency, I want you to try and get into one of my brother's office bathrooms, my father's office bathroom or this bathroom, depending on which floor you're on," Edward started to explain. "When you reach the office doors, lock them behind you and make your way into the bathroom and lock that door as well. Do you understand me?"

The look of terror mixed with horror on Bella's face as she nodded at him, made Edward feel bad, only for a split second before he realized everything he was telling her would potentially save her life one day.

"Once the bathroom door is locked, come over to the linen closet," he continued while taking her hand. He brought her with him over to the linen closet in the bathroom. It looked to be a heavy linen bookshelf in the corner of the room between the wall and the sink. "On the bottom shelf are two things. The first is a cell phone." Edward reached down to the bottom shelf and stuck his hand between the two towels, revealing a small cell phone. "There will be one in every one of our office bathrooms, along with one in a few other rooms in the apartment. Don't ever use these unless it's an emergency. Do you understand, Little Love? Forget these are even here unless there's an emergency, all right? I'm talking like a fire, intruder, police raid, any emergency; you get one of these cell phones and call one of us to tell us what's going on."

"Ok," Bella whispered nervously. How else was she supposed to respond? He sounded like it was life or death she remember all he was telling her.

"I'm not trying to scare you, or suggest you can't take care of yourself, but if something were to happen," Edward stopped speaking and shook his head, unwilling to think of something happening to Bella. "I'm just trying to prepare you in case something does happen, you can take care of yourself to the fullest of your abilities. I don't want anything to happen to you."

With a nod of her head, Bella was determined to learn everything he had to tell her about the room, just in case, if only to put his mind at ease. "Ok, what else?"

"The other thing the bottom shelf of the linen closet has is…" Edward knelt down closest to the wall, motioning towards Bella to mimic his movements. She sat down on the tan natural stone beneath her and watched as Edward pulled the neatly folded towels off the shelf, setting them to the side to reveal a key pad to something.

Confusion colored Bella's face as she wondered why he would have a keypad there, but Edward soon answered his question. "I'm going to tell you the combination; you'll need to remember it, just in case. Remember 1918, like the year."

"Why 1918?" Bella blurted out when she couldn't handle the question any longer. "Sorry, I just think it it'll help remember the code, you know," Bella rambled nervously. She didn't want Edward upset with her that she interrupted him while explained something so important to her.

Looking over at her, Edward explained his choice of numbers. "I chose that code because I owned 19 hotels when I was 18. It was off the wall and nobody would guess it," he reasoned with a lopsided grin and a shrug of the shoulders. Unfortunately great minds think alike and his brothers had similar ideas with their own codes.

"All right," Edward continued, "1918," he muttered as he pressed the numbers into the keypad. "The code, then press the enter key," he explained, showing her what needed to be done. Bella nodded to let him know she was following him when he looked back at her.

The moment Edward pressed enter; it was something like out of the movies. The entire linen closet swung forward just an inch to reveal something behind it causing Bella to gasp loudly with the unexpected turn of events.

Putting the towels back in front of the keypad, Edward stood and helped Bella to her feet before taking the side of the large closet and pulling it easily toward him, revealing a room behind the closet. Edward held out his hand to Bella, who immediately took it, and walked into the room with her on his heels.

Florescent lights quickly blinked on in the cooled room. The bright lights illuminated the entire room, showing the racks upon racks of guns of all types, calibers and sizes on the surrounding walls. Below the racks were drawers lining the walls of the room containing ammunition for all the guns stored right above the drawers. And in the center of the room stood two islands, each island had five drawers across on either side and stood four drawers tall, making the islands waist height on Bella.

The room looked like it was in a concrete bunker somewhere. The walls looked like they were reinforced with concrete along with the floor and ceiling. Though, if Carlisle's vault was right above this one, the concrete on the ceiling would be moot. Nobody even bothered to try and make the concrete look like something else. It wasn't at all decorative in the room, but it was definitely functional.

Watching Bella's eyes bounce around between everything, trying to take in every single detail of the room before landing on the walls, Edward decided he would try to explain what was going on. "This is my vault. I hold all my unregistered guns in here, along with ammo and the family jewels," he said with a chuckle and the pun. "The walls are lined with some-odd inches of steel before being coated with a thin, but sound layer of concrete. If someone were to shoot at the walls from the outside, the bullet wouldn't penetrate into the room. It's almost like a panic room, if you will. If you need to, I want you to come in here, shut the linen closet back on you, locking yourself in and wait for me. If I need to get in touch with you I will call the landline in here," he stated pointing to a phone resting silently on one of the ammo cabinets.

"While you wait, I want you to arm yourself. I know you know how to use a gun," Edward said with a small smirk. "Be ready to use it, just in case, though you and I are the only ones who know the combination to this vault. Nothing is impenetrable, so be ready. If it's not me or one of my brothers or father coming through that door to get you, shoot to kill and keep shooting. There're screens right here," he pointed to a couple of TV screens in one of the walls above the phone. "They are connected to the cameras around the house so you'll be able to see if someone is at the vault door and if they're friend or foe. I will come and get you out as soon as it's safe to do so." Bella nodded once as she studied the different guns in the room.

Before long, Bella moved on from the guns. Unsure just what the drawers were for; she stepped forward and noticed each drawer had glass panel fronts to reveal all kinds of jewelry housed within. The first glass panel Bella investigated housed tiny little rings, too small to fit on her fingers. She was just about to ask when Edward answered her unspoken question. "Those three stacked drawers hold different kinds of toe rings."

"Toe rings?" Bella asked skeptically. "Why would you have toe rings?"

Edward laughed at her facial expressions as he walked closer to her. "Those were very in during the 1960's, 70's and 80's. While she was alive, my grandmother pestered me to get some made for my future wife; of course she didn't know they wouldn't be as hip as they were back then. The only reason I kept them is because of what they're made of. All the jewelry in this room is made from the finest materials; diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, that kind of thing. I didn't just want to get rid of them because they weren't in fashion anymore. And unlike some, my wife isn't swayed by how rich I am or how many shiny baubles I can give her," Edward teased with a smile. "Just my luck."

The shy smile that graced Bella's face made Edward giddy. It was the one that told him she was just placating him, placating his rambling and quirky sense of humor. He could tell she wasn't judging him. _How could he have found the only woman in the world that wasn't swayed by money and material things?_ In a way he was glad for that because he knew without a doubt that she wanted him for him and not for the riches he could give her. On the other hand, it made the wooing he would give her that much harder. _What do you get a girl who doesn't want material items?_

"All right, well, what else do you have hidden away in here? Show me? Please?" Bella asked as she stood up again and looked back at Edward, who pushed away from the ammo drawers near the vault door and stepped up next to her.

"Well, you've already seen the toe rings, so the next three stacked drawers are the regular rings. You know, for fingers? Next set is earrings, followed by magnetic earrings, don't ask," Edward said, seeing the questions swirling around in Bella's eyes. "That was another thing my grandmother insisted upon for each of us. She didn't have her ears pierced and rarely found any workable earrings for herself. She insisted upon all us boys having magnetic earrings and clip-on earrings in our vaults just in case. I wish I could thank her now, because," he said as he brushed Bella's hair away from her ear, "You seem to lack the piercings." He bent to her ear and nipped playfully at her ear lobe, causing her to giggle in surprise.

"What else do you have hidden away in here?"

"The clip on earrings are organized; top drawers are the yellow gold fixtures, the middle drawers have the platinum fixtures and the bottom drawers have the rose gold colored fixtures. You can thank Esme and Alice for all the different organization tactics. Elizabeth wanted to do it, but that would have involved creating more drawers and nobody had the time when it was done and I didn't want anyone in here that wasn't family," Edward explained, as he motioned to the next set of three drawers on the island before escorting Bella around to the other side with a gentle, guiding hand on her back. "On this side, we have the hair items. The first row of drawers are the hair gems, you know like the little stones that look like dew drops in a woman's hair, the hair combs," Edward pointed to the next row of three drawers before moving onto the next stacked set. "These are the hair clips, then there are the hair ties and lastly on this island we have the three drawers with tiaras. Don't ask me what the hell any of this stuff is. I'm kind of hoping you either know or could ask Esme, Rose or Alice because I don't know the first thing about the hair stuff. I don't have any use for them. With the exception of one drawer, all of them have the same organization scheme - yellow gold, then platinum then rose gold."

The sparkly baubles were all lined up perfectly in their drawers, everything in its place and shined and buffed to perfection. If any lesser woman had seen the jewels and precious metals lined up in front of her, they would have probably tried to grab as much as they could hold and make a break for it, but as for Bella, well, she was almost scared to even open the drawer, lest something happened and one of them were damaged in any way. The smudges that would be left from handling the jewelry were almost sacrilege to Bella. No, Bella was more comfortable just looking at the pretty stones than touching anything.

With a gentle nudge, Edward turned Bella around to the other island in the room to reveal those drawers. "This island has the same organization as the other one. This side holds the necklaces," Edward said pointing to a stack of drawers, then another one, "The lockets, and chains," he said moving on to the other stacks of drawers, "necklace pendants and then finally for this side, the broaches. On the other side," Edward said escorting Bella around to the other side of the island one more time, "Are bracelets, anklets, lose gems, watches and glasses. Trust me; the glasses were all Alice's idea. She decided we all needed blinged out eyewear, whatever that means. Who the hell needs diamond encrusted glasses?" Edward asked with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

Seeing Bella looking at him, Edward simply shrugged as if to ask, "What can you do?"

"Since the lose gems don't have any settings, they're organized a little bit differently. The top shelf are the pink, red, orange and yellow stones, the middle drawer houses the green, blue, purple and "white" stones while the bottom shelf houses the black, grey and brown stones. Each shelf is sorted and labeled by stone type."

"They're all so colorful," Bella breathed as she bent over and looked at the different contents in the drawers, not bothering to open any of them. "The colors are all so rich and vibrant. They're beautiful."

Unable to keep his eyes off Bella, he responded with an unintelligible agreement as his eyes trailed over her body, finally landing on Bella's pert bottom. He knew he loved her and he would never do anything to make her feel uncomfortable, but _did she have to always look so edible all the time?_ Edward had no problem waiting as long as it took for Bella to be ready to move forward in their physical relationship, but it didn't stop him from looking, or appreciating her form. And boy did he appreciate it. But alas, he was one of the few true gentlemen out there.

After he snapped out of his fantasy induced haze, Edward cleared his throat a few times and told Bella "If you ever want to wear any of this stuff, Little Love, either ask or just come in and take it. I trust you not to pawn them. Whether you're just home or if we go out to some place formal, feel free to use them to your liking. I really have no use for them, except having the pleasure of seeing you all decked out in them. Who knows, maybe some time I can go fishing for a diamond in your belly button like Pierce Brosnan did with Halle Berry in the James Bond movie." The wicked smile he gave her as she snapped her eyes over to his gave her chills.

With goose bumps on her arms, Bella blushed brightly at the thought of such a thing ever happening as she stood up straight. _How could he always bring that reaction from her without even trying? And how could he so easily say these things as if he wasn't embarrassed? _It was almost like he said them just to garner some similar reaction just to watch.

"You're always welcome in here. This is your space now, too."

Once the couple was back in their room, Bella rushed over to grab the channel changer from the table off to the side of the room as Edward climbed onto his side of the bed and started setting his things up so he could do the little bit of work he still needed to do.

"What are you going to watch, Little Love?" He asked as she climbed onto the bed next to him.

She waited until she was completely comfortable before she shrugged. "I don't know, maybe whatever's on the Food Network."

A chuckle escaped from Edward as he opened his computer to start his work. "Ah yes. I forgot you have a crush on that chef."

Bella looked up at him with a grin. He caught her and there was no denying it. "Don't worry, you're the only one I want, even though you couldn't cook to save your life," Bella joked with a giggle.

Unwilling to give up the care free spirit and playfulness for something like work, Edward scoffed feigning hurt. His hand covered his heart as he replied. "Oh, I don't know. I'm getting pretty good with those truffles you introduced me to. Pretty soon I'll be able to make them all by myself."

Chuckling, Bella shook her head in the negative. "Not if you want to keep the kitchen intact. You're likely to start a fire and burn the entire building down."

"Oh, I see how it is," Edward said playing along. "Turn on your little show and leave me to my work."

Bella laughed again in response as she turned on the TV and flipped it to the Food Network. Lo and behold, Restaurant Impossible was on, reruns that Bella had already seen, but was always up for another watch. She settled in against the pillows at the head of the bed right next to Edward and turned her undivided attention to the screen before her as Edward turned his to his laptop screen.

Half an hour later, Bella was lying on her stomach with her feet crossed next to Edward's head, completely absorbed in the transformation of the failing business. She jumped when Edward asked, "Why do you like this guy? He looks like a roided out body builder."

"Hey!" Bella protested as she looked over her shoulder and back at Edward. "I happen to like Robert Irvine! Don't knock him."

Edward scrunched his face in confusion. "But why do you like him?"

Shrugging, Bella went back to the TV as she answered. "Maybe I like the name. Maybe I like his English accent. Or maybe, he tells it like it is without trying to sugarcoat it." And under her breath she added "You and your dad are the same way."

But even though he wasn't supposed to hear that last comment, Edward did, which caused him to smile softly. "All right, Little Love. I guess I'll let the crush slide this time. Just don't leave me for Popeye there and everything will be good," he teased as he turned back to his computer.

The scoff that left Bella seemed deafening in the otherwise fairly quiet room. Instead of simply turning her head to address him, Bella knelt and crawled up the bed to Edward. She discarded his computer on his lap as she cupped his face in her hands. "I could never and would never leave you for anything. Nobody would ever be as good to me as you are. Don't even joke about something like that. I have no doubt if we, for whatever reason, were ever to get separated, I would be a shell of the person you've helped me to become. I know I would be so distraught without you I'd go numb. I wouldn't be living, simply going through the motions of life. I wouldn't be me without you. Do you understand that?" she asked, pleading with him to understand what she was feeling.

Edward could see the serious truthfulness seeping out of Bella's eyes as he studied her reaction. Finally, he smiled, leaned forward, pecked her lips and said, "No going anywhere for either of us. Got it."

With a nod of her head, Bella went back to her previous position of lying on her stomach inverted so she could see the screen better. A gentle smile graced Edward's lips as he reached out and patted one of her calves softly.

A loud, shattering crash woke Bella from her cat nap an hour later. She was still in the same position on the bed, signaling to her she had fallen asleep while watching television. Adrenaline surged through her body as she lay there, trying to figure out what was going on and what caused the crash.

It didn't help that the next second she heard a whispered "Shit" from Edward as he got out of the bed.

Sitting up, Bella watched as Edward walked over to a red pile of mess on the floor near the wall. The red pieces were hard and scattered all over the floor in that general area.

"What the heck was that?" Bella finally asked, startling Edward at her sudden, unexpected question. He looked over at her and she watched, astonished, as a slight blush covered Edward's cheeks when he stood with the different pieces in his hand.

"I thought it was a bouncy ball," he explained nervously as he showed her the pieces.

Recognition colored Bella's features as she immediately realized what the pieces made up. Reaching out, she took the pieces from him and asked, "You thought my chap stick was a bouncy ball?" The incredulity was thick in her voce as she cried, "That was brand new!"

"I'm sorry!" he crowed. "I didn't know why you kept it by your side of the bed. I chucked it at the wall to keep myself entertained, and well…"

Putting the pieces roughly back together, Bella sat there staring at her brand new chap stick she opened just the night before. _Well,_ she thought; _that was a waste of a few dollars._

"Please say something," Edward begged, pleading with her to forgive his erroneous actions.

Bella locked eyes with Edward and warned, "Oh, Alice is going to kill you. You're on your own, buddy. You're a Chap Stick murderer. What did it ever do to you? It was innocent! How could you?" Bella asked with a wild giggle.

The tension in Edward's shoulders evaporated as they slumped in relief that she wasn't mad at him. "So, you're hanging me out to dry with the pixie, huh?"

Incredulous eyes met his before Bella called out, "You're the one who murdered it! The poor thing only saw one day of life. You're damn right I'm letting you hang when it comes to Alice. I didn't do it. You did." She reached over to the nightstand and pulled another bouncy ball looking sphere out of the drawer before turning back to Edward. Instead of another red one, this one was bright blue. "This is not a bouncy ball. This is Chap Stick. Do not throw it against the wall. I am going to leave it on my nightstand where the other one was. Okay?" Bella asked cocking an eyebrow at him.

Sheepishly, Edward smiled and nodded. "What kind are they? I thought Chap Stick only came in tubes?"

Studying his face for any kind of deception, Bella finally explained, "The brand name is E.O.S. It stands for Evolution Of Smooth."

"You wore this one last night?" Edward asked signaling towards the red pieces in his hand with a critical eye. "What flavor is it? It seemed fruity last night."

"Yeah, I was. It's called Summer Fruit." At the peculiar look on his face, Bella asked, "Why?"

"I liked that one," Edward revealed as he licked his lips as he remembered the fruity taste he enjoyed licking off her lips the night before.

Bella smiled brightly over at him while the blush colored her face, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "I could tell. Don't worry though; this one is the Blueberry Acai. I think you'll like it."

"Really? How many of these things do you have?" Edward asked as he took it from Bella to smell.

"I have ten because Alice made sure I had one of each of the flavors. This is her favorite kind of lip balm. She swears by it. Apparently all you do it apply some at night and in the morning, your lips are hydrated and smooth and they're all natural ingredients. I don't know about all that, I just know you and I both like the taste of them."

The grin on Edward's face was wide and giddy as he leaned in and pecked Bella's lips. "I think I'm going to have fun taste testing all the different flavors."

"I have no doubt," Bella replied as she lay back down on her side of the bed.

"You, Little Love, are adorable," Edward whispered as he leaned over and pecked her lips as he wrapped his arms around her, lying down next to her. "I love you," he whispered into her soft, sweet smelling hair before he kissed her head.

Bella nuzzled into his chest and whispered back "I love you too."

Soft whispered words back and forth between the couple saw them off into slumber of a small catnap.

What the oblivious couple didn't notice was the rain softly pelting the windows outside as the clouds finally let loose. The ground quickly turned dark with moisture of the droplets from the sky in the first rain of the season.

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><p><strong>AN: Please thank TwiSNFan for her amazing beta work! None of this would be possible (or legible) without her hard work! Even with a busy schedule, she makes time to help so you can all read this. Drop by and leave her a note if you can. She puts in so much hard work for this story, it's amazing.**

**Leave a review if you can, but don't be mean just to be mean people, it's not cool. How would you like it if you put your time, effort and heart into something and someone came around and tore it all apart? You'd feel down too, right?**

**As a side note, you may want to check out a blog that just did a little diddy on this story. (Thank you for the PR) and now it's my turn for some PR for her. Check it out, she's already written stuff on lots of stories. This is the link to MB, go check it out and snoop around: . . I think she'd love the extra visitors! Check it out, you won't regret it.**


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